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FULL TIME: Montreal Impact 3, Toronto FC 0
90+2': THERE IS THE FINAL WHISTLE
90+2': Drogba pumps up the crowd before the goal kick
90+2': Giovinco fires a volley from the top of the box that sails wide.
90+1': WIDE!!! Bekker fires an outswinging shot that nearly catches the far post.
90+1': Two minutes of stoppage time
90': Toronto has eased off the pressure.
89': Props should be given to those Toronto FC fans who made the trip and stayed for the whole match.
87': Yellow Card - Delgado (Toronto). Oduro is hacked down from behind at the midfield line. A good call and booking from the referee.
85': Bush with a strong claim on a corner kick into the six yard box. It is all academic now. Montreal will advance to take on the Columbus Crew in the next round.
83': Montreal Sub: Oduro (In), Duka (Out)
82': A loud bang is heard. Didn't see what was the cause.
82': The Impact supporters are starting to light some flares in their section. Blue smoke is pouring out across the field.
80': Another run forward for Montreal as Mallace looks to play in Duka. The pass is just too far ahead of the runner.
79': POST!!! Piatti with a great play to gain space in the box, his curling effort rings off the bar and comes back out.
78': Giovinco sails his last attempt high and wide. The clock is ticking on Toronto's first playoff appearance.
76': Drogba with a nice turn and fire but his shot sails wide.
76': Montreal Sub: Bekker (In), Bernier (Out)
75': Nothing going right offensively for Toronto FC. Michael Bradley looks to spring a runner in but the ball sails over the defense.
73': Altidore pressuring deep causes a misplay from the defender. Toronto on the front foot. The ball falls to Justin Morrow who curls his shot wide.
72': Toronto FC Sub: Gomez (In), Findley (Out)
71': Montreal Sub: Mallace (In), Reo-Coker (Out)
70': Toronto FC Sub: Delgado (In), Osorio (Out)
69': Delgado is getting prepared to come in for Toronto FC.
67': Toronto FC is starting to throw more offensive numbers forward in search of anything.
64': Bush is quick off his line as Osorio feeds a backheel to a wide open Robbie Findley. The ball is touched out by Bush. Nothing coming from the ensuing corner.
64': If the current results hold: Montreal will advance to play against Columbus. DC United will play the New York Red Bulls.
63': Drogba comes in 1-on-1. He takes one too many dribbles though as his shot is sent well behind the net off the tight angle.
61': Donadel fires a shot that is knocked down by Konopka. The rebound spills out to Piatta who brings the ball back out. Montreal looks to regroup but the defense is able to clear the ball.
60': Montreal starting to see more of the possession now.
58': Montreal moves the ball up the pitch. Drogba is the target but it falls to Piatti on the crossing run. Piatti attempts a shot that is out for a goal kick.
57': Cheyrou is back up and we are underway once again.
56': Benoit Cheyrou lunges in for a tackle and is down. Drogba comes over to check on Cheyrou.
55': Bradley lines up a shot that sails over the bar.
53': Toronto looks to play in Jozy Altidore but the ball is just too far ahead of him.
50': SAVE!!! Giovinco curls his free kick over the wall but Evan Bush is equal to the task getting down quickly to push the shot out.
49': Toronto FC seeing a good amount of possession to start this second half.
48': Piatti fires a speculative effort from long distance that does not trouble Konopka.
47': Drogba looks to be moving better here in the second half after he suffered a leg injury in the first. It looked like either an ankle or an Achilles
HT Sub: Toronto FC: Zavaleta (In), Kantari (Out)
45+2': There is the halftime whistle. Montreal Impact 3, Toronto FC 0
45+1': Laurent Ciman with a textbook tackle on Giovinco in the box. That is not something you will see in the box score but it was important nonetheless.
45+1': Just one minute of stoppage time coming
45': Jonathan Osorio tries to use his physicality to create space in the box but it is unsuccessful.
43': Drogba makes a run into the box. After the ball is pushed away, he is pulled down. No call and rightly so.
42': What a showing so far from the Montreal Impact. Absolute domination from the home side.
40': The question now becomes, who is your man of the match? Patrice Bernier or Ignacio Piatti?
39': GOOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!!!! DIDIER DROGBA!!!!! GAME. SET. MATCH. Bernier sees his chip attempt cleared off the line, it falls back to him and his cross finds a wide-open Drogba on the back post for the easy tap-in. 3-0 Montreal
37': Toronto is starting to press high in the Montreal defensive end.
36': Giovinco fires a shot that is blocked by a defender and cleared much to the delight of the home support.
35': Toronto FC is given a free kick in a very dangerous position after Altidore is fouled. It is in range for Giovinco.
33': GOAL!!!!! IGNACIO PIATTI!!!!! He capitalizes on poor play from the Toronto FC defense! 2-0 Montreal Impact
32': The corner is played towards Ciman. It is headed out to the top of the box where a shot is fired but blocked and cleared by the defense.
31': Piatti turns Josh Williams around twice as he works into the box. He fires a shot that is deflected out for a corner.
29': Drogba is back onto the field to the cheers of the home crowd.
28': Duka plays a dangerous ball into the six yard box that is barely cleared by Josh Williams.
27': Drogba is hopping off the field with the assistance of the trainer and Ambroise Oyongo. He looks to be pointing to his Achilles area.
26': The play has been stopped. Drogba is in some significant pain.
25': Drogba is slow to get up and is having problems putting weight on his left leg.
24': Drogba will a beautifully weighted ball down the line towards Dilly Duka. The ball just sneaks out of bounds as Duka arrives.
22': Giovinco goes down under some weak contact looking for a foul. None given. Piatti gets out in space, he has no support though.
21': Both players look to be ok.
20': Drogba and Findley are both down on the pitch. They are slow to get up after a collision just outside the box.
20: Wow that was the first goal for Bernier since September of 2013 according to the TSN broadcast.
18': GOOOOAAAALLLL!!!!! PATRICE BERNIER!!!!!! Montreal counterattacks with a 3-v-2. Piatti plays the ball behind into the path of Bernier who slides the ball under the keeper. 1-0 Montreal
17': SAVE! Piatti is played in on a looping ball from Duka. His low shot is kicked away by Konopka.
16': The ball is played into Benoit Cheyrou who flicks the ball in to Michael Bradley. Bradley is whistled offside.
15': Giovinco is clipped down as he plays the ball off. Donadel is the man whistled for the foul. A free kick coming from about 30 yards out.
13': MISS! Piatti attempts to curl a ball to the far post but it is just wide. Another great attempt for Piatti.
11': On the other end, Giovinco looks to draw a foul at the edge of the box but no call is given. The referee has set the precident that he is going to let them play. Let's see if he sticks to his word if things start getting chippy.
11': SAVE!!! A floated cross into the path of Drogba but Konopka gets his fist to the ball before it could meet the forehead of the former Chelsea star.
9': Giovinco gets in behind the defense. He is channeled to the near post where his tight-angle shot is stopped by Evan Bush. There were no trailing runners making an easy clearance for Montreal.
7': Drogba with an excellent turn but his pass into the path of Bernier is just too far in front of the runner.
6': A short corner is attempted but Montreal is able to clear the pass from Osorio back to Giovinco.
5': Toronto FC earns a corner on the other side as Robbie Findley's cross is deflected over the end line.
4': Piatti makes a diagonal run into the box. He fires a low shot that is pushed out by Chris Konopka for a corner. The corner is played in but headed out easily by Michael Bradley.
3': Jackson makes an overlapping run down the wing but a great individual defensive effort from Donny Toia to stop the effort.
2': Toronto FC spending a lot of time passing between the midfield and defense. Not a lot of push forward yet.
1': Ignacio Piatti is taken down with a tough shoulder challenge. No call from the center official.
1': WE ARE UNDERWAY! So glad to have you joining us here on VAVEL USA.
Toronto FC will get us underway moving from left-to-right on your keyboard.
The teams are coming out onto the field. Toronto FC in their all-red, Montreal Impact in their all-blue. Both clubs sporting the BMO sponsorship on the front of the kit.
There are social media posts out of Montreal suggesting that supporters of the Impact have attacked the away support for Toronto with batons.
The wind will be a factor tonight currently howling at 23 miles per hour. Thankfully the rain will keep its distance.
Kickoff approaching at the Stade Saputo. Who do you see advancing to the next round?
We are getting word that there may be some nasty scenes for Toronto's away support in Montreal. Working on confirmation but we will pass along the information as soon as we get it.
Here is the starting lineup for Toronto FC (4-4-2): Konopka; Jackson, Williams, Kantari, Morrow; Findley, Bradley, Cheyrou, Osorio; Altidore, Giovinco
Here is the starting lineup for the Montreal Impact (4-3-3): Bush; Oyongo, Cabrera, Ciman, Toia; Bernier, Donadel, Reo-Coker; Duka, Drogba, Piatti
If you are looking for some more reading ahead of tonight's match, check out our match preview from Jorge Belon right here.
What does you see happening in our match LIVE Montreal Impact - Toronto FC? The weather forecast is calling for morning rain to give way to a very windy afternoon with sustained wind speeds around 18 mph. How will that impact our match tonight? Stay tuned with VAVEL USA for all of your coverage.
The biggest key for Toronto FC will be if they can win the midfield. Can Michael Bradley and Jonathan Osorio bring their BMO Field game with them on the road to the Stade Saputo? If Montreal is able to win a majority of the possession in the midfield, then there is a good chance that they will win tonight’s match.
Toronto FC also has a very good second scoring option in United States Men’s National Team forward Jozy Altidore. Altidore has scored 13 goals this season on only 18 shots on goal, in fact Altidore has scored twice against the Impact already this season.
One thing that Toronto FC does have going for them is having an even better game-changer than Didier Drogba. Sebastian Giovinco WILL win the 2015 MLS MVP, it is not even close. He has scored 22 goals and has tallied 16 assists during his 33 appearances.
The road has not been kind to anybody this year in Major League Soccer but Toronto FC is really feeling the heat. The Reds have not won away from BMO Field since a 2-1 win over DC United back on June 6th. The last time they picked up points on the road was July 25th during a 3-3 draw with Columbus Crew.
Standing in the way are the archrival Toronto FC, making their first MLS Cup playoff appearance in franchise history. They had a great opportunity to clinch a first-round bye, however losses to Columbus Crew SC and these Montreal Impact forced the Reds to hit the road for the knockout round.
This will be the 45th competitive match played by the Impact this season including their improbable run to the finals of both the CONCACAF Champions League and the Canadian Championship. Just like a fine wine, this team has gotten better with age but will they be good enough to pick up their first playoff win?
Another player to keep an eye on for the Impact is attacking midfielder Ignacio Piatti. Piatti is the team’s leading assist man with eight on the year but more importantly he will be the man who needs to step up if Drogba is being shut down by Toronto FC. If Drogba is able to convert on his opportunities, do not be surprised to see Piatti as the man who is setting the forward up in good areas to capitalize.
The addition of Drogba has finally given Montreal something that they have lacked over the past year. A proven goalscorer up front and a dangerous one for that matter. Drogba is a household name around the world who continues to be a scoring machine even at age 37.
The key to their success has been one man, Didier Drogba. He has scored 11 of the team’s 18 goals since making his first start back on September 5th. Four of those goals have match-winning goals.
Despite being behind in the season series, the Montreal Impact have momentum on their side. Montreal is currently on a three-match winning streak and have won six of their last eight matches dating back to September 19th. If you go back just a little further to the beginning of September, the Impact have accumulated 23 of a possible 33 points to jump from well outside the playoffs to hosting a knockout round match.
This is the sixth and final meeting between the two Eastern Canadian squads with Toronto FC holding a three wins to two advantage. Incidentally, the home team has won every meeting this year.
If Toronto FC wins tonight, they will advance to play against the New York Red Bulls while DC United will take on the Columbus Crew SC.
If the Montreal Impact win tonight, they will advance to play against the Columbus Crew SC while DC United will take on the New York Red Bulls.
That win for DC United means that only one more spot in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals is up for grabs. The pairings for the next round are also dependent on how tonight’s match finishes.
It started in the East at RFK Stadium where DC United came back to beat the New England Revolution 2-1 behind goals from Chris Pontius and Chris Rolfe. The Revs goal came off the boot of Juan Agudelo on a bicycle kick that will likely be a candidate for Goal of the Playoffs.
What an amazing night of football we witnessed on Wednesday night in the 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Good evening and welcome to VAVEL USA’s live coverage of the 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs. Our first match tonight is a knockout round tie from the Eastern Conference as the number three seed Montreal Impact hosts the number six seed Toronto FC from Stade Saputo in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. My name is Matthew Evans and I will be your host.