Charlotte FC kept moving up the Eastern Conference after Idan Toklomati scored in the closing stages to seal a 2-1 win over CF Montreal on Wednesday night at Stade Saputo. The late strike turned a game that had been level since Liel Abada’s equalizer into another damaging loss for Montreal, which finished at the bottom of the conference.
That is why the Charlotte FC vs CF Montréal standings search matters now: the result changed the shape of both teams’ late-season chase. Charlotte improved to 11-7-6 and has lost just one of its last ten Major League Soccer matches entering the second half, while Montreal fell to 5-13-6 and remained eight points behind Toronto FC for the ninth and final playoff spot.
Daniel Rios opened the scoring for Montreal, giving the home side an early lead before Charlotte found its response. Abada brought Charlotte level, and Toklomati finished the job at about the 80-minute mark, the kind of late goal that can decide whether a club leaves with one point or three. The final scoreline said 2-1, but the gap in the standings made it feel bigger than that.
Montreal had enough of the ball to make the night uncomfortable for Charlotte and created a point-blank chance for Alexis Sanchez, yet it still could not turn that pressure into points. That mismatch explained the frustration at Stade Saputo: a team in need of a lift controlled stretches of play, but Charlotte absorbed the pressure long enough to leave with the result that mattered most.
The loss leaves Montreal with almost no room to waste another weekend, even if the playoff math is still technically alive. Toronto FC holds the ninth and final playoff spot, and Montreal now trails by eight points with Saturday’s trip to Colorado against the Rapids next on the schedule. Charlotte goes to FC Cincinnati on Saturday carrying momentum and a stronger place in the Eastern Conference standings than it had a week ago.
