The first leg of both conference finals will be hosted Tuesday night, with Montreal hosting fellow Canadians Toronto FC at a sold out Olympic stadium.
Montreal comes in after upsetting number 1 seed New York Red Bulls in the previous round. Following a close 1-0 victory in Montreal, the Impact went on to win in New York, doing what no one team could do during the regular season. The Impact did this without its star forward Didier Drogba, who might have to be utilized in the Conference Final clash. Meanwhile Matteo Mancosu has stepped up to the challenge, netting the winning goal in Montreal. Despite being the underdog against New York and coming up with a result, Montreal will once again be the underdog, and will have to fight every minute in front of a sold out crowd.
Toronto, on the other hand is in a wonderful position to move on to the finals. TFC is in terrific form, first beating the Union 3-1 in the first round, then going on to win 7-0 on aggregate against NYCFC, including 5 goals in New York. With star players Sebastian Giovinco, Jozy Altidore, and Michael Bradley all in top form, Toronto looks likely to grab an elusive away goal. There aren’t many defenses that can stop both Altidore and Giovinco, and one would expect a goal or two from both forwards. But with experienced defender Laurent Ciman, Montreal have a strong case for once again surprising the league.
Combining the terrifying Toronto attack, with the staunch Montreal defense, Tuesday will certainly be an exciting game. I expect a 2-1 Toronto victory, but don’t count out Montreal, who have fought against expectations before.
