2024 TELUS Canadian Championship — Quarter-Finals (Leg 1)
CS Saint-Laurent vs. Toronto FC
May 8, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET
Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard in Montreal, Quebec
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here

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Toronto FC make their way to Montreal on Wednesday night for their Canadian Championship quarter-final first leg, but this time they aren’t heading to Stade Saputo for a date with CF Montreal. Instead, the Reds are visiting semi-professional side CS Saint-Laurent at Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard.

The 2023 Ligue1 Québec champions will welcome the most historically successful team in the country to Montreal for the first-ever meeting between the two sides, as a result of knocking out CPL side Halifax Wanderers FC on penalties in the preliminary round. Toronto FC, meanwhile, is playing League1 Canada opposition for the second round in a row, after beating League1 Ontario’s Simcoe County Rovers 5-0 at BMO Field at the end of April.

That latter match was dominated by the MLS side as expected, but Simcoe County had some positive moments throughout the 90 minute fixture. In all likelihood, Saint-Laurent will be forced to defend for much of the match like Simcoe was against much stronger opposition, but they have pace and skill, and will be able to hit TFC on the counter-attack if that is how the game does indeed play out.

“I was really impressed,” said Toronto boss John Herdman about CS Saint-Laurent. “I got a chance to see the game against Halifax, they’re well organized which you would expect from Quebec, there’s a good tactical identity there. The direct player over the press into some talented forwards caused Halifax some problems. The individual qualities of a couple of players combining together, that comes from technical discipline, players being on the right blade of grass and anticipating before Halifax were able to.

“Long story short, this is a team that will cause problems…it’s gonna be a tricky one. We’re clear on the plan, to get in and push for result, and again play as many of our key players as we can to to make sure we get through this quarter-final first leg.”

Mamadou Kane was the hero against Halifax, scoring a penalty in the first half of last week’s match, before adding another in the shootout to win the match. The former Vancouver FC, York United, and FC Edmonton forward is among many players in League1 Canada who believe they are good enough to play at the professional level, and a platform against a Major League Soccer side on a nation-wide broadcast could provide another opportunity for him and others to prove he can make the jump to the CPL or higher.

Saint-Laurent most recently played on Sunday, drawing 1-1 with CS Longueuil. Samir-Mohamed Djeha scored CSSL’s goal, just five minutes into the match.

John Herdman’s side also knows, especially after that aforementioned game in Halifax last week, that they need to take CS Saint-Laurent seriously. While Lorenzo Insigne is unlikely to return from injury in this match, Herdman said in a pre-match media availability that Federico Bernardeschi could be among the players that feature, and that he is planning to bring the strongest squad available to him.

“It’s a quarter-final for us, so these are big matches,” said Herdman.

A big match it is indeed, between two clubs on different level of the Canadian soccer pyramid. Canadian Championship matches are always special, but ones between teams from different leagues and provinces always have a bit of extra spice to them.

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 set to host historic game against MLS giants: For the first time in Canadian Championship history, a League1 Canada club will host a Major League Soccer side on Wednesday night, when eight-time champions Toronto FC make the trip to Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard in Montreal. It is the first-ever meeting between the two sides, and comes in the hosts’ first appearance in the Canadian Championship after winning the Ligue1 Québec title last year. That 2023 provincial triumph came in CS Saint-Laurent’s second season fielding a semi-professional club, after four decades as only a youth soccer club. This quarter-final series, like the preliminary round in Halifax was, is a way for the club to continue to put players from Quebec on the map, something that is both their mission as well as a motivating factor.
• Toronto looking to keep hot streak going: Already the heavy favourites coming into this match, Toronto FC also head to Montreal in scintillating form. The Reds are on a four-game winning streak in all competitions since late-April, outscoring their opponents 11-2 in the process. In between wins against the New England Revolution and Orlando City SC, TFC beat League1 Ontario side Simcoe County Rovers 5-0 in the preliminary round of this competition. They most recently played on Saturday, beating FC Dallas 3-1 at BMO Field. They will look to keep the good times rolling against a CS Saint-Laurent side they are expected to beat, but as the Quebec side showed against Halifax, they wont shy away from a fight.
• Saint-Laurent hoping to continue steep upward trajectory: CS Saint-Laurent have been a youth soccer club in Quebec for more than 40 years, and have produced Canadian men’s national team talent Ismael Kone, among other talented players across the professional, semi-professional, and collegiate ranks. Their semi-professional club, however, only came into existence in 2022, before they won the Ligue1 title for the first time in 2023. Their magical journey continued in Halifax last week, with their Canadian Championship victory the result of decades of hard work in that community. “To come in here in our first try and get it done, we told ourselves however we get it done, it doesn’t matter — whatever we’ve got to do, just get the win.” Can they pull off another upset on Wednesday night, beating Toronto FC? Some see it as near-impossible, but Saint-Laurent see it as their mission.

ALL-TIME SERIES

This will be the first-ever meeting between these sides.

KEY QUOTES

“The reality is, I don’t think people understand how difficult it is to prepare for these kinds of games. It’s not just conditions, it’s bigger fields, crowds at games, lack of experience playing at this level.” — CS Saint-Laurent head coach Nicholas Razzaghi after the win against Halifax

“Sometimes it can be tough, underestimating the opposition is never what you want to do but with our mindset in the squad we have, I don’t think that’s really something we think about or do, we’re a team that’s always going to be ready for any competition or any game or whatever rank of the team we play. We’re going to be ready and definitely give full force and full steam ahead.” — Toronto FC goalkeeper Luka Gavran