By Canadian Press

Last-minute penalty drama leads to 1-1 draw between CF Montreal and FC Cincinnati

Sep 20, 2023 | 8:00 PM

MONTREAL — A late penalty goal from Luciano Acosta forced CF Montreal to settle for a 1-1 draw with league-leaders FC Cincinnati on Wednesday evening at Stade Saputo.

Mahala Opoku was the lone goal scorer for Montreal (11-14-4), while Acosta’s penalty prevented Cincinnati (17-4-8) from losing a fifth game in their eight in all competitions.

Both teams approached the beginning of the game cautiously, and it took until the 40th minute for the first clear cut chance of the match when Cincinnati’s Santiago Arias found a free header off a corner, but placed it just wide of the goal.

Montreal tweaked their formation to 3-4-3 at halftime in an attempt to overload the flanks, bringing on Lassi Lappalainen as a winger. The switch had an immediate effect, allowing Montreal made considerable progress down the right-hand side.

That, in turn, opened up the middle of the park, something Opoku exploited at the 52nd minutes. After finding space at the top of the penalty area, Opoku fired a perfect shot into the bottom left corner, giving the hosts the lead.

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With just one minute left in added time, Sirois collided with Dominique Badji, leading to a penalty that was converted by Acosta and sealing the 1-1 draw.

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Both teams will now turn their attention to on Sep. 23 as Montreal travels to Atlanta United while Cincinnati returns home to host Charlotte FC.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2023.

The Canadian Press