Olympic Stadium. CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals. Second leg decider.
The stage was set for CF Montreal to secure their place in Canadian soccer lore by reversing a 1-0 aggregate deficit and qualifying for the semifinals of the tournament.
However, it wasn't to be as Montreal’s Champions League run ended Wednesday night with a 1-1 home draw against Cruz Azul that saw them bow out of the tournament.
Rudy Camacho scored for CF Montreal while Uriel Antuna was the lone goal-scorer for Cruz Azul, who have qualified for their second consecutive Champions League semifinal.
CF Montreal had lost to Cruz Azul 1-0 in the first leg of the quarterfinals on March 9.
"In the first half we had a couple of opportunities with ball in the box and in the second half we had even more, it was just the final touch," said head coach Wilfried Nancy. "Since the beginning of the season, we played our game well, but we would give them one or two opportunities to score and that happened again today."
Montreal came out of the gate firing, showing an intensity that was sorely missed last Wednesday at Azteca Stadium with more shots on target in the first 30 seconds than in the entire first leg.
It took 15 minutes for the first big chance of the game to manifest itself. After being played in alone, Santiago Gimenez forced a huge save from Montreal keeper Sebastian Breza.
"My job is to stop shots so if I concede a goal, then I didn't do my job," said Breza. "Each game is a different situation, so my confidence won't change from game to game. We just move onto the next one."
As Montreal continued to press and look for that all-important aggregate equalizer, they continued to run into a Cruz Azul backline that refused to give an inch.
The best chance of the half for Montreal came just a minute before the break when Romell Quioto managed to connect with a cross but sent the close-range header wide.
Cruz Azul made Montreal pay for their lack of finish. Less than a minute later, Antuna found himself unmarked in the middle of the box. He made no mistake, giving Cruz Azul the lead and a crucial away goal after yet another defensive mix-up from Montreal.
"Playing the first half we did, it was encouraging," said Nancy. "Of course, conceding that goal was difficult and it hurt but I feel like we played that half really positively."
Montreal started the second half the same way they started the first with substitute Kei Kamara missing three golden opportunities inside the first ten minutes.
It took another 20 for that pressure to materialize on the scoresheet as a quickly taken corner found the head of Camacho, reducing the aggregate gap to one goal.
"We had the feeling that with one more goal, it was ours," said Nancy. "This is difficult a bit in terms of spirit. (The players) deserved better today, and we deserved better."
With less than a minute left in added time, tempers began to flare as a scrum formed after several consecutive fouls on Cruz Azul players.
Montreal will now head to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to face Atlanta United as they continue their MLS campaign on March 19.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 16, 2022.
