May 22, 2025
AFC Toronto hand the Montreal Roses their first home loss
Tonight, AFC Toronto come to Laval’s Stade Boreale to challenge the Roses. The Montreal Roses quest for an undefeated inaugural season suffered a blow midweek, when the Roses were beaten on the road by the Calgary Wild. Still, they remain the hottest team in the league and retain their firm grip on the top of the table. AFC Toronto, on the other hand, have two wins, two loses and a draw so far this season – good for fifth place.
Tonight is a rematch of both sides debut match, where Montreal beat AFC Toronto by a single goal in Toronto. While it is maybe too early to call this is a rivalry game; the historical ambivalence between these two cities almost guarantees that that will be the case, if it isn’t already. Tonight, we add the next chapter in this story.
See Also: CF Montreal destroyed by rival Toronto FC in the rain
On a bitterly cold and raining Thursday evening, that saw those brave souls that had showed up to huddle together for warmth, the Montreal Roses suffered their second consecutive defeat of the season.
For the first half an hour, the Roses were on their heels, frantically defending an onslaught from AFC Toronto. The Montreal Roses were barely able to get the ball out of the half, before AFC Toronto would drag it right back in again, as the action remained on one side of the pitch almost exclusively.
In the 35th minute, AFC Toronto broke the deadlock when Esther Okoronkwo curled a screaming shot into the back of the net from just outside the box. AFC Toronto’s pressure had paid off, as the Roses finally succumbed to the non-stop barrage that besieged them.
As was the case in the first ever meeting between these two teams, Montreal Roses best chances came from AFC Toronto’s defensive errors. The lone goal in the first match came when Tanya Boychuck picked up an errand pass from a AFC Toronto defender, and fired into the goal. Tonight though, while the errors lead to shots against – none of them were high scoring chances.
AFC Toronto began the second half in much the same way as they had opened the first – by dominating the Montreal Roses in every aspect of the game. While both teams made mistakes, probably due to the poor playing conditions as Montreal’s week-long wet spell drags on, neither could find a way to capitalize of them.
Emma Regan doubled AFC Toronto’s lead in the 73rd minute, blasting a shot off the inside of the crossbar and in. Montreal’s hopes were fading as quickly as the light around Stade Boreale was.
The few chances the Roses could muster, were low percentage chances that were easily turned away by AFC Toronto goalkeeper Sierra Cota-Yarde. The Roses tried multiple times to stretch the play, sending long balls along the sidelines, by Toronto’s defensive was always up for the challenge – and seemed to have scouted Montreal well, and knew where their balls were going to be placed before the boots had made contact with the ball.
At the final whistle, AFC Toronto held a two-goal to nil advantage over the home team, as the Roses suffer their first losing streak in franchise history.
Read More:
>> The Montreal Roses and Halifax Tides play to a draw at Stade Boreale
>> Montreal Roses FC host Ottawa Rapid in first ever home game
>> Alliance take convincing win over Honey Badgers
Having now lost two games in a row, following a blistering start to their campaign, the Roses will need to regroup quickly and climb back into the cockpit and find their early season form. Tonight, the Roses were thoroughly dominated and beaten; which is uncharacteristic and not what we have come to expect from them so far. How they respond in their next game, will be interesting to say the least.
The Montreal Roses will next be in action in three days time, when they visit the Ottawa Rapid. AFC Toronto, meanwhile, won’t play again until June 7th, when they welcome the same Ottawa Tide.
