Toronto FC II Takes First 401 Rivalry Game of 2016

Goals by Malik Johnson and Raheem Edwards Sealed Rivalry Win For Toronto

SportsTristan D’Amours — Published April 10, 2016

Despite FC Montreal equalizing the score thanks to midfielder Ballou Tabla, the bleu-blanc-noir conceded to suffer its second straight loss of the season.

Evident frustration emanated from the players and the coaching staff on the way back to the locker rooms.

“Frustration? Yes, a lot,” said head coach Philippe Eullaffroy. “More than the last game because we were under the impression that we were going to win this game.”

“In modern soccer, when we don’t punish the opposition, we get punished. That’s what we have to take from this. We need to be more aggressive.”

One player who showed technical prowess was Ballou Tabla, who was making his United Soccer League debut. The 17 year-old scored his first professional goal in his first professional game and was the standout player for Eullaffroy’s squad.

[Tabla] could have been more than the man of the match, he could have been the hero of the match,” said Eullaffroy. “He still has stuff to work on but as soon as he has the ball we are under the impression that something will happen.”

Tabla, who missed the season opener against Bethlehem Steel FC due to international duty with the Canadian under-18 national team, wasn’t surprised by the level of play of the United Soccer League. He usually plays with the Montreal Impact’s U-18 team.

“When you play on the national team, you play with players that are in top leagues and when you end up here, you will know what the real level is,” said Tabla. “You just have to adapt but personally, there’s no surprise.”

Fans at the Big-O had to wait until the second half to witness goals. At the 62nd minute, Toronto midfielder Malik Johnson dribbled down the middle past the whole Montreal defense, fooled goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau and put an easy shot in the back of the net to open the score.

How about this goal from TorontoFCII</a>&#39;s Malik Johnson. Wow! <a href="https://t.co/HE9klPJCIb">pic.twitter.com/HE9klPJCIb</a></p>&mdash; Toronto FC (torontofc) April 10, 2016

Momentum was low on Montreal’s side but at the 80th minute, forward Charles Joly passed to Tabla who launched a shot passes Toronto goalkeeper Alex Bono to tie the game at one.

“I was in the moment,” said Tabla. “I saw [the ball] coming so I went full speed and I saw the side netting, I made a little chip and it went in.”

It brought momentum back on Montreal’s side. However, Toronto wasn’t done.

At the 84th minute, midfielder Raheem Edwards took the left flank and completely disregarded Kyle Fisher who was guarding him. He let go a solid shot that beat Crepeau on the left side.

If anyone forgot about the rivalry this match was, Edwards reminded them by chirping toward the FC Montreal bench after the goal. Toronto had just taken another 401 rivalry matchup.

“We are teammates on the national team but when it’s Montreal against Toronto we are enemies,” said Tabla.

“Defensively we were a bit naïve on these two plays,” said Eullaffroy. “They learnt that even if they have control they can lose the game on two plays.”

FC Montreal now embark on a five-game road trip which will take them to Wilmington, Rochester, Orlando, Charlotte, and Bethlehem. The next Montreal home game will be on Saturday May, 21 when they will host New York Red Bulls 2 at Centre Claude Robillard.