TORONTO — There is never a shortage of emotion when Toronto FC and CF Montreal square off, but TFC's penalty shootout loss to its rival in Telus Canadian Championship play April 30 adds to the spice level of Saturday's league meeting at Stade Saputo.
The cup game at BMO Field saw Italian-born Albanian international Giacomo Vrioni score in the 89th minute to force the shootout as Montreal twice rallied from one-goal deficits. Goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois then took over, stopping Tyrese Spicer and Ola Brynhildsen as Montreal won the shootout 3-2.
"It's nothing we've spoken about but I think everybody knows the Montreal-Toronto rivalry. And to play pretty well in that game, have two leads and end up losing it, I think that sticks in everyone's craw," Toronto coach Robin Fraser said after training Friday. "And it's just more fuel to the fire."
Since the cup loss, injury-depleted Toronto has gone 1-2-0 in Major League Soccer play, compared to 1-1-1 for Montreal.
Toronto (2-7-4) stands 14th in the Eastern Conference, one place and three points above basement-dwelling Montreal (1-8-4).
Toronto is coming off a 1-0 loss Wednesday to Eastern Conference-leading FC Cincinnati and has won just one of its last five games in all competitions, a 1-4-0 run that includes the cup loss to Montreal.
Montreal tied visiting Columbus 1-1 midweek, conceding a 63rd-minute goal by Canadian Jacen Russell-Rowe after former Toronto player Luca Petrasso scored for Montreal. Columbus outshot Montreal 14-4 (4-2 in shots on target) and had 57.6 per cent of the possession.
Toronto recorded its first home win of the season last Saturday, 2-0 over D.C. United, while a goal by former Toronto forward Prince Owusu lifted Montreal to its first victory of the campaign, 1-0 at New York City FC.
The NYCFC result snapped an 11-game winless streak (0-8-3) for Montreal, which played its first seven league games on the road. Head coach Laurent Courtois was fired March 24 with the club at 0-4-1 with assistant coach Marco Donadel, a former Montreal player, elevated to interim head coach.
"I thin they really seem to have turned the corner since they’ve changed coaches," said Fraser. "They play with a lot of confidence. They've got some decent results and they're at home — obviously in need of wins, like we are.
"For us, we've had some really good moments this week. And, to be fair, even our bad moments weren't so bad. It was just not probably as sharp as it needed to be Wednesday. But I think we're both teams who are finding form. You throw in the rivalry, throw in where we both are in the table, I think it will be a pretty hotly contested game."
Toronto is missing injured captain Jonathan Osorio, defenders Richie Laryea, Nicksoen Gomis, Raoul Petretta and Kobe Franklin, midfielder Markus Cimermancic and forward Deandre Kerr, although Fraser reports that Osorio (shoulder) and Laryea (hamstring) are progressing well.
Laryea has not played since March 1, going down in the second game of the season.
"Richie's doing really well," said Fraser. "Watching him move, it's exciting. We haven't seen Richie run in a long time and he looks really sharp. It will take some time for him to get back into it but he's certainly on the way back.
Laryea missed three months last season after going down in the season opener, subsequently undergoing surgery in March 2024 to repair the same hamstring in London, England. The latest injury prompted another trip to England to see a specialist.
Osorio suffered a partially dislocated shoulder early in the shootout loss to Montreal, falling awkwardly in a tangle of players. Fraser says the veteran midfielder is close to returning.
"He's been training this week with the brace on his shoulder and is just kind of getting back into it. But he looks really sharp."
Defender Henry Wingo, who last played March 29, is available Saturday although for how long remains to be seen. Still that's welcome news given the initial prognosis on Petretta and Franklin, who both had leave the midweek game in the first half, is that they will be out several weeks.
Toronto holds a 16-14-5 edge over Montreal in career regular-season meetings. TFC swept last year's series, winning 5-1 at home and 1-0 on the road while Montreal won both games in 2023.
Since their first competitive meeting in May 2008, the two clubs have met more than 50 times in all competitions with Toronto leading the all-time series 26-23-10.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2025.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
