MONTREAL, QC - A goal from TFC II debutant Marcos Nunes and an own goal from FC Montreal’s John Dinkota saw the Reds draw first blood in the USL’s ‘401 Derby’ with a 2-0 win on enemy turf.
Nunes opened his account in the 37th minute, latching onto a Molham Babouli free kick just outside the area. The team added to the lead the 71st minute via sub Raheem Edwards, when his shot took a deflection off FC Montreal defender Dinkota for an insurance goal that sealed a historic win for the club.
Pace and Space
The game's pace was shaky to start off, with both teams feeling the emotion and jitters of the derby, but the gameplan was clear. FC MTL were content with slowing play down and being more be deliberate in their build up, playing sweeping balls from the back through Chakib Hocine and midfielder/captain Nazim Belguendouz into Victor N’Diaye. The young forward was one of the more dangerous players for the hosts, running at the TFC II defence and forcing Bono to make a few saves. TFC II’s attack was at a faster pace, getting the ball to the likes of Mark-Anthony Kaye, Molham Babouli and Marcos Nunes. Even with the changes in the starting XI from last week, the pressing game carried itself over from the Charleston fixture and resulted in set piece chances and good attacking opprotunitess.
The two most dangerous set pieces in the first half came off the foot of acting captain Babouli, one resulting in a goal in the 37th min goal and the other crashing off the crossbar just before halftime.
New Kid on the Block
Nunes couldn’t have started his TFC II career any better, signing a contract just before the trip to Montreal and capping it off with a a goal. Babouli played in a cross and the new signing tapped it home, capping off a first half where he was very active and engaged during what was a disjointed opening 45 minutes with fouls, stoppages and bookings reigning supreme. Overall it was a good performance from the new signing before coming off in the 88th minute. He was able to combine with Babouli, Kaye and Luca Uccello on attacking runs and showed his pace - a part of his game that has been a signature of his since joining the academy.
Dealing with Absences
It can be difficult for any team to come together as a cohesive unit after so many key players have left the squad, whether due to national team call duties or first team call ups. However, Jason Bent’s squad dealt with it well, and players like Babouli, Kaye, Aparicio and Bono stepped up in a leadership roles.
TFC II’s next game will be against New York Red Bulls II at Red Bull Arena, Catch the game at 3:30PM ET via livestream on torontofc.ca/live.
Game Summary:
Scoring
TFC II – Marcos Nunes 37’
TFC II – John Dinkota (OG) 71’
Misconduct
FCM – Chakib-Nazim Hocine 22’ (caution)
FCM – John Dinkota 31’ (caution)
FCM – Nazim Belguendouz 45’ (caution)
TFC II – Mark Serjeant 63’ (caution)
FCM – Mitchel Bringolf 73’ (caution)
TFC II – Alex Bono 89’ (caution)
Records
Toronto FC II: 1-1-0 3pts.
FC Montreal: 0-1-0 0pts.
Lineups
Toronto FC II – Alex Bono; Wesley Charpie (Mateo Restrepo 89’), Daniel Fabrizi, Adam Bouchard, Mark Serjeant (Marcus Godinho 64’); Luca Uccello, Marcos Nunes (Rahim Thorpe 88’), Manuel Aparicio (Martin Davis 68’), Massimo Mirabelli (Raheem Edwards 64’); Mark Anthony Kaye, Mo Babouli ©
Substitutes Not Used: Filippo Di Bennardo, Jordan Montoya
FC Montreal – Yann-Alexandre Fillion; Bangala John Dinkota (Philippe Lincourt-Joseph 77’), Mitchel Bringolf, Chakib-Nazim Hocine (Janouk Charbonneau 72’), Hassoun Camara; Nazim Belguendouz ©, Jonathan Vallee (Louis Béland-Goyette 57’), Alessandro Riggi (Mastanabal Kacher 55’), Fabio Livio Morelli, Yacine Ait-Slimane (Kevin Ovidio Luarca 72’); Victor Omar Ndiaye
Substitutes Not Used: David Paulmin, Zachary Sukunda
