2024 TELUS Canadian Championship — Quarter-Finals (Leg 2)
Toronto FC vs. CS Saint-Laurent
May 21, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET
BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here
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The second leg of a David versus Goliath Canadian Championship quarter-final will take place on Tuesday night, as MLS side Toronto FC welcome Ligue1 Quebec’s CS Saint-Laurent to BMO Field. These sides met two weeks ago in the first leg of this quarter-final tie, in front of a passionate home crowd at Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard in Montreal. Motivated to play against superior opponents, and fuelled by fans from across the province of Quebec coming out to support them, Saint-Laurent were arguably the better team in the first half of that match. The second half is where Toronto FC showed their quality, taking advantage of some tired legs and scoring three times after the break to take a commanding lead back to Ontario. “They didn’t come into this challenge scared, they came into this challenge with a lot of confidence and courage, and I think everyone is able to see that,” said head coach Nicholas Razzaghi after the match. Toronto boss John Herdman gave them a lot of praise as well, saying that Saint-Laurent “ought to be proud tonight”, and that it was a “tough night … everything you expected it to be.”
Leg two promises to be an exciting match as well. Toronto FC know that they have a commanding lead on this tie, and are heavy favourites in this match, but know that they have to respect a team that outplayed them at times two weeks ago, and respect a competition they are desperate to win in 2024. “I imagine they’ll come in with some confidence and I guess that pressure off,” said Herdman ahead of Tuesday’s match. “I think they genuinely believe that if they score one they can score two. That’s the dream I know I’d be trying to create with my players, so I expect them to come in excited, full of confidence, and I guess with no real weight of expectation, which maybe they had enough first game.” With a suspension looming for Federico Bernardeschi in MLS action, the Italian will be taking part in this cup match according to Herdman, who also said ahead of this match that he won’t be fully rotating his squad because of the respect he has for how Saint-Laurent played against his side in the first leg. The winner of this tie advances to the semifinals, where the four quarter-final winners will be redrawn into a pair of two-legged ties to decide who moves on to the final.
All CPL and Canadian Championship matches will be broadcast live on OneSoccer, available as a linear channel on Telus’ Optik TV (Channel 980) as well as online at OneSoccer.ca, through the OneSoccer app and on the fuboTV Canada platform.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
- CS Saint-Laurent hope to make another strong impression: In every cup competition around the world, there’s always a team that wins the hearts of neutral fans, or provides a shock upset in a team from a higher division. Last year, that was League1 BC side TSS Rovers, and this year that crown has been passed to Ligue1 Quebec’s CS Saint-Laurent. After beating Halifax Wanderers FC of the Canadian Premier League in the preliminary round, they brought the game to TFC in the first leg of this quarter-final and even got out of the first half scoreless against superior opponents at Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard. That match would end 3-0, a scoreline that perhaps flattered Toronto a little bit, but also likely puts their chances of a second incredible upset out of reach. Still, CS Saint-Laurent played very well in the first leg, managing 16 shots and six on target, and will want to at the very least score what would be a memorable goal at the home of their MLS opponents. * Toronto FC can use this game to start another winning streak: Toronto FC’s first-leg win over CS Saint-Laurent was the final match of a five-game winning streak for the Reds, before subsequently losing to New York City FC and Nashville SC in MLS action. This past weekend, however, Toronto FC stormed back into the win column with a dominant 5-1 victory over bitter rivals CF Montreal at BMO Field, which included a hat trick from Italian star Federico Bernardeschi — who also scored in the first leg of this quarter-final tie. They will hope to make it two wins in a row against teams from Montreal on Tuesday night, when they host Saint-Laurent, before welcoming Cincinnati to Toronto on Saturday. * Semifinal spot on the line for victorious team: The winner of this quarter-final tie advances to the semifinals of the 2024 Canadian Championship, but as of right now their next opponent is not yet known. As mentioned above, Toronto FC have one foot through the door to the semifinals already, and don’t look like giving up four at home to Saint-Laurent, but in this sport anything is possible. The four semifinal teams will be drawn into a pair of two-legged ties, with the winners advancing to a single-match final in September. The Vancouver Whitecaps host Cavalry FC later on Tuesday night, CF Montreal host Forge FC on Wednesday, and next Wednesday Pacific FC will host Atlético Ottawa, guaranteeing that at least one CPL club will make it to the final four.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Toronto FC wins: 1 || CS Saint-Laurent wins: 0 || Draws: 0
Last meeting:
May 8, 2023: CS Saint-Laurent 0-3 Toronto FC