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Prince Owusu scored two first-half goals to help Montreal advance to the Canadian Championship final, beating the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 on Wednesday and 3-2 on aggregate.
Montreal (5-14-6) will be in its first Canadian Championship final since 2023, topping the defending champions, while Vancouver’s (14-6-4) streak of consecutive titles ends at four.
“I gave a pretty short speech before the game. I looked around and saw that all the players were ready for today. This was my speech too; I said, ‘We’re ready, let’s do it,'” Owusu said. “Today we wanted more. We were willing to push our limits, and the team that pushed our limits won. It wasn’t really about quality.”
Over the past few years, many of Montreal’s losses have gone according to script. The lack of final product was punished by the pragmatism of the opposing team and their ability to take fewer chances.
This time, in one of their most important home games in five years, they appeared to have flipped the script in favor of a high-quality Vancouver team. Over the course of two matches, Montreal managed to score three goals with just four shots on target and 36 percent possession.
“It’s nice to have that kind of efficiency even though we don’t have as many opportunities as we’re used to,” Montreal interim head coach Philippe Eullafroy said. “Although we could have played even more effectively. “I told (Owus) I was upset with him because I wanted him to score three goals.”
With the game ending at one elimination after the first leg draw at BC Place, neither team took much risk early on. As both teams set up their game plans, Vancouver had the majority of the ball, but it was Montreal who found space in the final third against the run of play.
Half an hour later, their counterattacks bore fruit: Montreal opened the scoring. While both were trying to get a header in the box, Sam Adekugbe elbowed Daniel Rios in the head.
Even though the penalty was not awarded on the pitch, Eullafroy, who jokingly referred to the new FVS system as the “poor man’s VAR”, challenged the play, which was called off. Owusu, whose final penalty against the Philadelphia Union was saved, potentially costing Montreal a point, made no mistake and scored his sixth penalty of the season.
“I’ve scored so many goals that I know (one miss) is going to happen,” Owusu said. “It didn’t hurt my confidence or make me think too much. I did the same steps, the same movements and didn’t change anything.”
Just before the break, Montreal doubled their lead with another counterattack. Matty Longstaff caught the Vancouver defense, passing the ball behind Owusu, who beat goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer and sent the ball into the left corner.
With the tournament on the line, Vancouver redoubled its efforts in the second half, desperately searching for a way back into the game. Instead, they faced a determined defensive block from Montreal that left very little space to exploit.
In fact, in many cases, Montreal had a better chance of finding a third than Vancouver did to bring him back.
“I think we didn’t come from behind too much. When we get behind the defensive line, it’s usually a good result for us. I think the guys on the field need to take responsibility and put the ball in the back of the net,” Vancouver captain Ryan Gold said. “I think we created some half-chances, but we struggled to get some clean openings.”
Vancouver finally beat goaltender Sebastian Breza in the first minute of stoppage time. Emmanuel Sabbi carved out enough space to get on the end of a cross and fired a powerful volley into the bottom right corner.
Montreal will now have to wait a month before hosting Forge in the Canadian Championship final on Oct. 21 at Saputo Stadium.
