Canadian Championship 2019: Montreal Impact survive controversial call to win Voyageurs Cup

Rudi Schuller

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Canadian Championship 2019: Montreal Impact survive controversial call to win Voyageurs Cup image

TORONTO — The Montreal Impact lost the battle but won the war.

With a 1-0 aggregate lead, Montreal traveled to Southern Ontario on Wednesday for Leg 2 of the 2019 Canadian Championship and lost 1-0 to rival Toronto FC. But this time around, the Impact prevailed in the ensuing shootout, 3-1, to claim the Voyageurs Cup for the first time since 2014 after a hotly-contested match that was filled with the drama and controversy that has come to be expected whenever the teams meet.

It started out as a one-sided affair, with TFC on the front foot throughout the first half. The home side squandered many early chances but still looked more likely to win coming out of the halftime break.

The game's turning point came in the 65th minute — but it had nothing to do with the scoreboard.

With TFC throwing players forward and Montreal counterattacking, Toronto's Brazilian fullback Auro appeared to clear a cross away from his team's net with an outstretched hand, diverting the ball from an awaiting Clement Bayiha inside the 6-yard box. Referee Drew Fischer signaled for an Impact corner kick, but Montreal vociferously argued for a penalty kick to no avail.

Due to the fact there was no video assistant referee (VAR) in the competition, Fischer had no second look at the play but said were certain of the infraction in real-time.

"For me was a clear penalty. I think we all [saw], but you know, we don't have VAR [in this tournament]," Impact head coach Wilmer Cabrera said after the match. "But it was for me obvious and clear that the PK happened."

Big moments tend to lead to other big moments, and the penalty non-call was no different. Just five minutes after the controversy, TFC got the goal it was looking for from midfielder Tsubasa Endoh, who poked the ball home to score his third goal in as many matches.

The goal was no less than what Toronto deserved on the night, as TFC dominated the stat sheet with over 65 percent possession and nearly 300 more passes than the visitors. But for all the positive play, the club couldn't break down a resolute Impact defence that did what it needed to on the night.

And despite the feeling that perhaps the Impact were delivered a bit of justice in winning the trophy despite missing out on a potential championship-winning penalty call, Cabrera was quick to dismiss such a narrative.

"The game is so unfair, and so [unjust], that in this sport you don't get rewarded for the good things sometimes," Cabrera said. "If you want to win, you want to have to put all this aside and you have to deal with that."

That's exactly what the Impact did, as they turned up the pressure on the hosts after going down a goal. A deep Montreal offensive foray compelled Toronto defender Chris Mavinga into committing a foul that led to his ejection late in the game, and having forced a shootout, the Impact topped a rattled TFC side to claim the national championship.

Montreal's Canadian Championship victory also earned the team a berth in the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League.

Rudi Schuller