TORONTO AFC Toronto had the chances, the pressure and long stretches of control. Montréal Roses, however, had the finishing touch.
Marie-Yasmine Alidou converted a second-half penalty before Elyse Bennett added a late insurance goal as Montréal left BMO Field with a valuable 2–0 victory over AFC Toronto on Sunday in Northern Super League action.
The result was an important response from Montréal following a difficult week. The Roses were playing their first match under interim head coach Maryse Bard-Martel, after the departure of Robert Rositoiu, and the victory improved their record to 9-4-3 and 30 points, keeping them firmly in the race near the top of the table.
For Toronto, the final score hardly told the full story.
The home side produced 20 shots, nine on target, compared with only seven attempts and five on target from Montréal. Toronto also enjoyed 52 per cent of possession, but repeatedly found goalkeeper Anna Karpenko standing between them and the opening goal. Karpenko made nine saves and delivered one of the defining performances of the afternoon.
Toronto began creating serious danger midway through the first half. Canadian international Kaylee Hunter was denied from close range, while Colby Barnett beat several defenders before striking the crossbar. Toronto went even closer later in the half when Lauren Rowe’s header hit the post and Karpenko kept out the rebound.
For all of Toronto’s pressure, the match reached halftime without a goal. Then, in the 55th minute, everything changed.
Bennett was brought down during a Montréal attack and the officials awarded a penalty. Alidou stepped forward and drove her spot kick beyond Toronto goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo to give the visitors a 1–0 advantage. It was Alidou’s second goal in four matches for the Roses. The decision was not without controversy.
Toronto felt the contact leading to the penalty may have taken place outside the area. Post-match coverage also reported that AFC Toronto coach Marko Milanović questioned the decision-making process and expressed support for introducing video review or a challenge system in the NSL. Toronto’s frustration grew in the 68th minute.
Canadian international defender Shelina Zadorsky appeared to have dragged the hosts level, heading home from a corner and briefly sending the BMO Field crowd into celebration. The goal, however, was ruled out following an offside decision. It proved to be a decisive moment. Instead of 1–1, Montréal made it 2–0 only six minutes later.
Bennett reacted quickly inside the Toronto penalty area and finished the opportunity in the 74th minute, giving the Roses the breathing room they needed. The goal was her ninth of the 2026 NSL season, putting her level with Vancouver Rise forward Jessica De Filippo at the top of the league scoring chart.
Toronto continued searching for a way back, but Karpenko refused to be beaten. The Montréal goalkeeper completed her sixth clean sheet of the season, helping the visitors survive a match in which Toronto generated far more attacking opportunities. It was the kind of defeat that will leave Toronto wondering how the afternoon escaped them.
They created enough chances to change the match, hit the woodwork, had a goal disallowed and forced nine saves from the opposition goalkeeper. Montréal, by contrast, were clinical when their biggest opportunities arrived. That efficiency ultimately separated the two sides.
The defeat also ended AFC Toronto’s four-match unbeaten run and left the club at 7-5-4 with 25 points, while Montréal moved five points clear of Toronto and to within three points of the top of the table.
Toronto will now turn its attention to an away meeting with Halifax Tides FC on August 23, while Montréal return home the same day to face Calgary Wild FC at Stade Boréale.
By The Voice of Women Sport
