The first leg of the NSL Playoffs semi-final did not go the way Vancouver Rise FC scripted it.
Montreal Roses FC rolled into town Sunday night and rolled over the Rise in a 3-0 defeat for the home side.
Rise interim head coach Iain Derbyshire said he believed that “the scoreline was a bit flattering.”
“I thought we actually battled really well,” he said. “We created so many final-third entries. We just lacked that cutting edge.”
The first 10 minutes of the match were quite open. Montreal probed around the 18-yard box, looking for an attack. The Rise had a good quick transition, initiated by Jessica De Filippo, that was eventually sent wide by Anaïs Oularbi.
The Roses drew first blood in the 11th minute. Mimi Alidou played an excellent ball through the middle for Elyse Bennett. The American striker carried it into the final third and shot from the edge of the 18-yard box under Morgan McAslan.
The visitors added a second at the half-hour mark. This time, Bennett acted as provider for Alidou as the attacker received the ball inside the 18-yard box and tucked it cleanly past the Rise keeper.
The Rise had a dangerous opportunity in the 51st minute. Mia Pante ran down the right and got beyond her defender to get a cross into De Filippo. The striker got ball-side of her defender, turned and shot.
Roses keeper Gabrielle Lambert watched the ball go wide of the far post.
Lisa Pechersky came off the bench to continue her punishment of her former club. Bennett played in the attacker for her first goal of the playoffs in the 73rd minute.
Tempers started to flare towards the end of the match. De Filippo showed flashes of her demeanour from the first season, receiving a yellow card for shoving a player. Alex Lamontagne came close on a few occasions to a card of her own, arguing with the referee.
Pante came close in stoppage time with a strong run down the left. Her shot was blocked just enough to send it past the far post.
The match ended without the Rise managing a shot on target throughout the 90 minutes.
“They punished us on three mistakes,” Derbyshire said. “And I think it’s kind of a bitter story of our season. We just shoot ourselves in the foot at times when we’re in the ascendancy. There’s so much good in our performance that we can look at, but then when we’re bad, we’re really bad. And that’s just the brutal honesty of it.”
A job still to do for the Rise
The Rise will play the second leg in Montreal’s Stade Boréale next weekend. But they have a three-goal deficit to manage.
“If we score early, in that first half, then we can really take the game to Montreal,” Derbyshire said.
Derbyshire said there is strong belief in the squad that despite the current scoreline, they can get the job done.
“We just need to take our moments. Again, if we score early in the game, anything can happen. We have to believe that. I mean, what have we got to lose?”
Roses take regular-season dominance into playoffs
After winning the Northern Super League’s Supporters’ Shield on the final day of the regular season, the Roses looked poised for the double.
With this win in the first leg tonight, the Roses are now undefeated in their last 11 matches.
“I think winning the Shield, honestly, just puts fire in the team,” Alidou said. “And we want more. We keep saying, ‘We’re not satisfied.’ We want the [Diana B. Matheson] Cup. So, it’s good for us that we won the Shield, but…we’re pushing hard to go get the Cup. We want to lift it.”
On the potential of winning the double, Bennett said, “We’re obviously looking to do that, for sure.”
Second leg
The second leg in Montreal is on November 8. Kick-off is at 2 p.m.
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