The five-peat in the Canadian Championship fell out of grasp for the Vancouver Whitecaps as they lost 2-1 (3-2 on aggregate) to CF Montréal in the second leg of the tournament.
A Prince Owusu first-half brace sealed Montréal’s ticket to the final, where they will face Forge FC.
Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sørensen congratulated Montréal after the match.
“We came here with a draw, but we had a good idea we could win this game,” he said. “This game was tight, and it was also decided in some tight situations. We made it very, very difficult for ourselves.”
Neither side grabbed the momentum in the 20 minutes of the match. The Whitecaps pushed up with their high line as Montreal looked to exploit the space in behind.
There was a testy moment when Brayan Ceballos appeared to headbutt Tristan Blackmon after the Whitecaps centre-back pushed forward. Blackmon took umbrage with the play, and the players were given yellow cards for their antics.
Montreal was awarded a penalty via the video support review mechanism in the 30th minute. Sam Adekugbe was adjudged to have fouled Daniel Rios, which sent Prince Owusu to the penalty spot.
It was a simple conversion for the striker, giving the home side the coveted lead in the two-legged tie.
“I’m sad,” Sørensen said of the penalty being awarded. “Honestly, I think it’s against the spirit of the game. I don’t think Daniel has any chance of going at the ball. And I think Sam is going up, jumping backwards…I just think it’s sad that it’s awarded a penalty. I think if anything, honestly, I think it’s a free kick for Sam.”
Blackmon was the recipient of another contentious play late in the half as Owusu caught the defender with a high studs challenge on the ankle. Blackmon took several minutes of treatment as Owusu was brandished a yellow card.
Once play resumed, the Montreal striker took advantage of his handiwork, pushing past an obviously hindered Blackmon to put the home side up by two. Laborda failed to close down Owusu, and the striker forced Isaac Boehmer to commit early.
Owusu skipped around Boehmer and slotted in his second on the night in the 45th minute.
Halftime changes followed the calamitous first half as Brian White and Tate Johnson entered the fray. They were bolstered by the addition of Emmanuel Sabbi and Bruno Caicedo around the hour mark.
Yet, for all of these changes, it took the Whitecaps until the 70th minute to manage a shot in the second half.
“At the moment, we have difficulty converting the opportunities we give ourselves. And we have to be able to do that,” Sørensen said.
Vancouver showed their ability to control the ball and build up their play more effectively than in the first half, but the old story remained the same; the final touch continued to elude them.
Müller had a beautiful flick into the 6-yard box that found no one. Sabbi’s crosses were easily broken up. And Gauld’s shot from distance was high. Nothing was going in their favour.
Sabbi made it interesting with a well-taken goal in stoppage time. Jeevan Badwal’s sliding movement to get the ball to the winger was just as important as the shot.
But it was not enough. For the first time since 2021, the Whitecaps will not be in a Canadian Championship final.
Whitecaps cannot fault referees for poor display
I hate writing about referees.
When referees are good, no one mentions them; they are only ever mentioned when their performance is abysmal.
Yes, Filip Dujic’s performance as the referee was poor. No, he did not win the game for Montréal.
OneSoccer’s commentators openly questioned both Video Support Review, the penalty call for the Whitecaps and the one against, and stated they felt the visitors had a right to be aggrieved in both instances.
Further, a high-studs tackle on Blackmon by Owusu led to that same player taking advantage of the situation to score the second goal. It was a challenge that another referee would have easily awarded a red card, negating the opportunity for the player to score entirely.
But the Whitecaps were poor in their final touch and pass inside their opponent’s 18-yard box and did not take their chances.
Up next
Only MLS looms in the Whitecaps’ schedule, and they get right back at it this weekend when they travel to Salt Lake City to face their Western Conference foes on Saturday, Sept. 19.
Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m.
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