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Photo Credit: Antoine Longue
Costly Mistakes Sink Vancouver FC Against CF Montreal
By Having reached the Canadian Championship Final last year, Vancouver FC will be disappointed to have cop up a 4-2 aggregate loss to CF Montreal on Sunday.
While there is a gargantuan payroll disparity between the two sides – Montreal striker Prince Owusu makes more than the entire Vancouver FC roster combined, for one – there were several moments through both legs that suggested it might have been a winnable one for the Eagles.
Instead, Vancouver lost 2-1 at home midweek and marched into an uphill battle in Montreal last night, and while they had opportunities and landed a man advantage, a second 2-1 loss sees their time in the 2026 Canadian Championship come to a close.
With the first leg having been a narrow loss for Martin Nash’s side, the head coach named an unchanged starting eleven for the venture into La Belle Province. The same could not be said for CF Montreal, who changed the majority of their starters, with midweek penalty-scorer Prince Owusu named to the starting eleven.
The Major League Soccer hosts threatened from the first whistle, though Vancouver parried with a few probes of their own. That suited the visitors just fine, knowing they needed just one goal – perhaps a lucky bounce – to level the score.
Opportunity beckoned when Efrain Morales was sent off for a second yellow card just before half-time, giving Vancouver FC a man advantage for at least one full half.
That nearly paid off immediately, with Nicolas Mezquida getting in and attempting a chip on Sebastian Breza, who made an awkward fingertip save off of his own line in a moment that was a lot less cool and collected than he played it off to be.
Just a few minutes later, Vancouver FC were celebrating a Matteo Campagna set piece goal only to have the referee adjudge that the defender – who had conceded the late penalty in the first leg – had nicked the ball with his hand before sending it beyond Breza.
The missed chance would haunt the visitors as CF Montreal earned a freekick afterwards, with an unlikely suspect in Brandan Craig firing it beyond Irving to hand the hosts a home lead and a two-goal aggregate cushion.
Nash dipped into his bench and brought on a mix of substitutions that included former Premier League baller Lys Mousset, who was an intriguing bet for a potentially heroic moment.
Instead, a devastating gut punch came was CF Montreal doubled their lead. Luca Petrasso, having freshly signed a new multi-year deal at Stade Saputo, played the ball up to Daniel Rios, catching Callum Irving well out of his box in a moment where there was no excuse to be wandering. The Mexican fired the ball into the empty net, taking the air out of any potential Vancouver momentum.
The Eagles didn’t say die, however, threatening Breza even as the minutes ticked on and the chances for a cup comeback looked increasingly sparse. Mezquida came close, and so too did Mousset.
In the end, they would strike blood through the full-back who had oh-so-nearly scored a late one in the first leg: Morey Doner. Always full of energy, the Collingwood man volleyed an absolute cannon beyond Breza hit so furiously that it whipped right out of the net after curling around its interior. No celebration from Doner, who was all business and already running back to his own half for play to resume.
There would be no further goals, however, with ten-man CF Montreal seeing out the rest of the match to claim the two-legged quarter-final tie 4-2 on aggregate.
Having been knocked out by Forge FC over the last two years, it marks a moment of cup redemption for CF Montreal against CPL sides – though for Vancouver FC, who reached the final in 2025, it marks a short end to a cup run they will have felt could have gone further, if not for individual errors.
CF Montreal must now await tonight’s match to see whether they’ll face the four-time repeat champions in Vancouver Whitecaps or another CPL side in Cavalry FC. Given the ‘Caps took leg one 4-1, an all-MLS semi-final is looking the more likely.
Header Image Photo Credit: Antoine Longue
1 Comment
Heartbreaking for VFC as the red gave them real belief. Bah’s miss early too could’ve changed things.
VFC are much improved now that their finishing has picked up. Going to make noise in the playoffs this season.