CF Montreal battled back from a goal down to book their spot in the Canadian Championship semi-finals, edging Vancouver FC 2-1 at Willoughby Community Park Stadium in a tense quarter-final that swung late.
Vancouver, set up in Martin Nash's 4-2-3-1, took the lead on 54 minutes when Nikolas Mezquida converted a Dario Pecile assist, sending the home crowd into raptures. But the lead didn't last long — nine minutes later, Matthew Campagna turned the ball into his own net to level things at 1-1, gifting Montreal an equalizer they hadn't earned through open play.
The match tightened from there, with both benches busy — Vancouver made four changes across the second half, while Philippe Eullaffroy's Montreal, playing a 4-3-3, rotated through five substitutes as the game wore on. Daniel Thorhallsson picked up a yellow card in the 68th minute before being withdrawn late, and Marco Polisi was booked for Vancouver in the closing stages.
The decisive moment came deep into stoppage time. In the 90+2nd minute, Prince Owusu stepped up and converted a penalty to hand CF Montreal a dramatic 2-1 win. Frank Amaya was booked moments later as tempers flared in the fourth minute of added time.
The result eliminates Vancouver FC from the competition, while CF Montreal advance to the semi-finals on the road.