Ismaël Koné scored the winner midway through the second half, sending CF Montréal to the Eastern Conference semifinal with a 2-0 victory over Orlando City in an MLS playoff match on Sunday.
The 20-year-old Canada international has had a breakthrough campaign and his star continued to rise after a well-worked goal assisted by Djordje Mihailovic.
Mihailovic would add a penalty deep into stoppage time to lock up the win.
Montréal controlled most of the possession on the night but it was the visitors who had the better of the chances, squandering several good looks in the first half.
Those misses would prove costly as Montréal took full advantage of its first big chance of the evening, which was put away by one of the rising stars in CONCACAF.
Koné only joined Montréal in August 2021 from local semi-pro club CS Saint-Laurent. One year later, Montréal turned down a seven-figure bid from Sheffield United on transfer deadline day. They may not be able to hold on to him much longer.
The midfielder has also rocketed up the depth chart for Canada and has just about locked up a place on the team’s World Cup roster. Now the question is how much he’ll play in Qatar.
Before the World Cup though, there is the matter of trying to bring an MLS title to Canada. Koné and his teammates will face the winner of Monday’s game between Inter Miami and New York City FC in the conference semifinal.
Watch Koné’s winner vs. Orlando City
🔔 BREAKTHROUGH 🔔
Ismael Kone finishes a slick move for the @cfmontreal opener!#MTLvORL // Audi #MLSCupPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/mB05hwNBs7
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 17, 2022
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