FC Montreal Stomped by Rochester Rhinos

Volesky and Dos Santos Score as Rochester Top Montreal At Home

After 90 minutes and two goals from Christian Volesky and Steevan Dos Santos later, FC Montreal were left with nothing but a feeling that something is wrong with the team holding a 1-9 record. Photo Alexander Perez
Photo Alexander Perez
Photo Alexander Perez

Fresh off a 2-1 win last week against the Richmond Kickers, FC Montreal were expecting a Rumble in the Jungle by hosting the Rochester Rhinos Saturday afternoon.

90 minutes and two goals from Christian Volesky and Steevan Dos Santos later, Montreal were left with nothing but a feeling that something is wrong with the team holding a 1-9 record.

“Good thing I had a good night sleep yesterday because I would have fallen asleep,” said FC Montreal head coach Philippe Eullaffroy. “I hope that it will be a realization for them.”

FC Montreal head coach Philippe Eullaffroy did not try to hide his frustration after the game. The Frenchman sent out a clear warning to his players in the shape of a lengthy and heated dressing room speech.

“[Eullaffroy said] that it honestly wasn’t good. That it took us 55-60 minutes before we started playing,” said defender Janouk Charbonneau about his coach’s speech. “We take two goals on concentration mistakes but after we don’t do anything to score. In the end, we concede goals but we don’t do anything to create any.”

The Frenchman warned that his team’s performance wasn’t worth the semi-professional Canadian Soccer League, where the team, known as the Impact academy at the time, played five years ago.

The scoring begun at the 45th minute where Rochester midfielder Matt Garzi passed the ball back to a teammate after intercepting it from the feet of Montreal’s David Choiniere. The ball was immediately sent forward to striker Christian Volesky who continued on his tradition to score against Montreal. Of his nine goals scored last season, five came against Eullaffroy’s men.

The second goal came in the 50th minute when midfielder Andre Fortune II took the left flank and cross the ball to striker Steevan Dos Santos, who redirected the ball in the net with his foot.

“The second goal, I consider this my fault,” said Charbonneau. “The guy comes in my blind spot, I don’t see him, he steps forward and I don’t attack the ball so we take in one more goal because of me.”

The coaching staff from the Montreal Impact first team were in attendance to watch both FC Montreal and Impact striker Cameron Porter, who played 62 minutes in the game.

“We had the [coaching] staff from the [first team] in the stands. What will they say? ‘There’s nothing.’ And they’re right, we were bored,” said Eullaffroy. “If the glares of the pros freeze them, it will be complicated when they play in front of 45,000 people at Olympic Stadium or elsewhere.”

Eullaffroy cited lack of effort in the reasons why his team performed poorly. In something reminiscent of last season’s woes, the coach thinks his players are too confident for the position they are currently in.

“It’s tough, but those who aren’t ready to suffer, go do something else. Go play the PlayStation where you’re on your couch with a cocktail and everything is fine, but now we have to suffer a little.” — Philippe Eullaffroy, FC Montreal head coach

Charbonneau thought that excess confidence coming from last week’s 2-1 win in Virginia against the Richmond Kickers was a part of the loss.

“We’re not allowed to have that excess of confidence, far from there,” said Charbonneau. “We’re last in the league, not just in our conference, in the league.”

The team now embarks on their longest road trip of the season where they will spend three weeks away from home without coming back to Montreal playing a total of four games.

“Last year, the long trip helped us for the second half of the season,” said Charbonneau. “So we have no choice to get results.”

FC Montreal will play its next home game on June 26, where they will host Orlando City B at Complexe Sportif Claude Robillard.