Toronto FC recorded a 3-0 victory over CS Saint-Laurent in the first leg of the 2024 Canadian Championship quarter-final on Wednesday evening. Second-half goals from Matty Longstaff, Deandre Kerr and Federico Bernardeschi helped the Reds secure the road result against the Ligue1 Québec side at Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard in Montréal, Québec.

First Half:

Toronto FC rang in eight changes from the starting eleven that featured against FC Dallas on the weekend. Nicksoen Gomis, Alonso Coello and captain Jonathan Osorio remained from Saturday’s MLS victory, while Luka Gavran, Kosi Thompson, Aimé Mabika, Sigurd Rosted, Kobe Franklin, Matty Longstaff, Cassius Mailula and Deandre Kerr came in for Sean Johnson, Kevin Long, Raoul Petretta, Federico Bernardeschi, Deybi Flores, Tyrese Spicer, Derrick Etienne Jr. and Prince Owusu.

The two sides played out a goalless first half in Montreal, in spite of the visitors dominating possession and creating three goalscoring opportunities to take the lead. CS Saint-Laurent goalkeeper Konstantinos Maniatis made important saves from a Cassius Mailula curler and a Deandre Kerr effort early in the first half, while defender Nathan Goulet also made a crucial goal-line clearance to deny Jonathan Osorio the opening goal on the night.

Second Half:

TFC Head Coach John Herdman made a triple substitution to begin the second half with Kevin Long, Deybi Flores and Jesús Batiz entering the match for Sigurd Rosted, Jonathan Osorio and Nicksoen Gomis.

The Reds found their breakthrough early in the second half when Matty Longstaff fired past Maniatis after smart hold-up play and a pass from Cassius Mailula in the box. The 50^th minute goal marked Longstaff’s second consecutive match with a goal and marked Mailula’s first assist for TFC.

Soon after, Toronto FC doubled their advantage when Deandre Kerr latched onto a long pass from Deybi Flores to get in behind the hosts’ defence and slot past Maniatis with a right-footed effort in the 59^th minute of play.

Sixteen minutes later, TFC added their third and final goal on the night when Federico Bernardeschi drew a foul and caught goalkeeper Konstantinos Maniatis off guard with the resulting, quickly taken direct free-kick in the 75^th minute.

Next up, Toronto FC host New York City FC in MLS regular season action at BMO Field on Saturday evening. Kick-off from Toronto is set for 7:30 p.m. ET and will be available to watch on TSN in Canada on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV globally.

Later in the month, TFC will host CS Saint-Laurent on May 21 for the second leg of the 2024 Canadian Championship quarter-final. Kick-off from BMO Field is set for 7:00 p.m. ET and will be available to watch on OneSoccer across Canada.

LINEUPS

CS SAINT-LAURENT – Kosta Maniatis; Jefferson Alphonse, Nathan Goulet, Obeng Tabi (Riad Bey 75’); Wesley Wandje (C), Mouhamadou Sylla (Yann Toualy 65’), Oussama Boughanmi (Aylan Khenoussi 84’), Safwane Mlah, Cedrick Adamou; Mamadou Kane (Rickson Aristilde 65’), Loïc Kwemi (Josue Youta 65’)

Substitutes Not Used: Peter Scuccimarri, Abdoul Aziz Sakande

TORONTO FC – Luka Gavran; Kosi Thompson, Aimé Mabika, Sigurd Rosted (Kevin Long 45’); Kobe Franklin, Matty Longstaff (Derrick Etienne Jr. 57’), Alonso Coello, Nicksoen Gomis (Jesús Batiz 45’); Jonathan Osorio (C) (Deybi Flores 45’), Cassius Mailula (Federico Bernardeschi 65’), Deandre Kerr

Substitutes Not Used: Sean Johnson, Prince Owusu

NOTABLES:

• Toronto FC played a competitive match against Ligue1 Québec opposition for the first time in club history.
• Matty Longstaff has now scored goals in two consecutive matches for the first time in his Toronto FC career.
• Deandre Kerr scored his first goal of the 2024 season for Toronto FC.
• Federico Bernardeschi scored his first direct free-kick goal for TFC.
• Cassius Mailula and Deybi Flores registered their first assists for the Reds.
• Derrick Etienne Jr. and Jesús Batiz made their first Canadian Championship appearances for TFC.