Idan Toklomati Comes Off the Bench to Sink CF Montréal as Charlotte FC Win 2-1 in the Rain

Idan Toklomati was not supposed to be the main character on Wednesday night. He came on in the 28th minute only because Archie Goodwin went down injured. Fifty-three minutes later, in a downpour at Stade Saputo, the substitute stroked home the goal that sent Charlotte FC back across the border with three points.

Charlotte beat CF Montréal 2-1, coming from behind after Daniel Ríos gave the hosts an early lead. Liel Abada equalized three minutes after that opener, Toklomati won it in the 81st minute, and Montréal spent the final stretch peppering shots into the wind and rain without finding a second goal. Charlotte's own site described a persistent downpour with wind blowing sideways for most of the match, which explains why so much of the evening looked like a car wash with goalposts.

Montréal Land First, Charlotte Hit Back Fast

Montréal started like the better-adjusted team in the weather. The hosts won three corners in the first nine minutes, Wiki Carmona forced Kristijan Kahlina into a save from distance in the 14th, and Matty Longstaff sent one wide five minutes later.

Then Charlotte lost their striker. Goodwin went down in the 25th minute, play was held up for about three minutes, and Toklomati replaced him. Allan Saint-Maximin tried to take matters into his own hands, firing over in the 31st minute and forcing Sébastian Breza into a save from outside the box in the 33rd.

One minute later, Montréal struck. Luca Petrasso swung in a cross and Ríos rose in the center of the box to head it into the bottom right corner. 1-0 to the home side.

The lead lasted three minutes. Charlotte broke at speed, with Pep Biel feeding Saint-Maximin, who did his usual dance through traffic before slipping the ball to Abada on the right side of the box. Abada smashed a right-footed shot into the top right corner. According to Charlotte's site, Biel's secondary assist made him the 22nd player of all time to record back-to-back 10-goal, 10-assist seasons, and left him tied with Karol Świderski for the most goal contributions in club history.

Abada nearly added another right before halftime, but Breza held his shot from range, and Victor Loturi's yellow card in first-half stoppage time was the last notable act of a 1-1 half.

Montréal Push, Kahlina Holds

The second half was mostly Montréal with the ball. Between the 61st and 65th minutes alone, Alexis Sánchez had a shot blocked and another fly over, Carmona missed narrowly, Dante Sealy was denied from a tight angle and Longstaff saw a shot saved by Kahlina in the top left corner. Montréal brought on Noah Streit and Hennadii Synchuk for fresh legs, and Synchuk spent the rest of the night shooting on sight.

Charlotte responded by sending on Brandt Bronico and Rodolfo Aloko for Luca de la Torre and Abada. David Schnegg picked up a yellow card in the 68th minute, a booking Charlotte say will keep him out of their next match.

The Turning Point: Toklomati Finishes the Job

Charlotte started to find openings in the final 15 minutes. In the 79th minute, Toklomati headed a Biel corner just wide and Djibril Diani had a header blocked. Two minutes later, Schnegg delivered a cross and Toklomati finished calmly with his left foot from the center of the box. 2-1 Charlotte, and the substitute who was not even in the plan had decided the game.

Montréal threw on Owen Graham-Roache and Efraín Morales late and kept coming. Sánchez put a direct free kick just over in the 86th minute, Kahlina saved Petrasso's shot from distance a minute later, and Dawid Bugaj fired over in the 89th. Deep in the four minutes of stoppage time, Morales got his head on a Synchuk cross from the middle of the box but sent it wide right. That was Montréal's last real shot at a point.

Who Stood Out

Idan Toklomati turned an emergency call-up into the winner. He took two shots, put one on target and scored with it. Not bad for a night that began on the bench.

Allan Saint-Maximin was Charlotte's creative engine. He took four shots and set up Abada's equalizer, and almost every dangerous Charlotte attack seemed to run through his feet.

Kristijan Kahlina made four saves, including two in the top left corner, and his defense helped him out with 40 clearances. On a night when Montréal launched 33 crosses, the Charlotte back line spent a lot of time heading things away.

Daniel Ríos gave Montréal its best moment with a clean header and finished with one shot, one goal. The problem for the hosts was that nobody else could add to it.

Stats That Matter

• Possession: Montréal held 58.4 percent of the ball and completed 491 passes to Charlotte's 349.
• Shots: Montréal 17, Charlotte 15, with five Montréal attempts on target to Charlotte's four.
• Corners: Montréal won 11 to Charlotte's 3.
• Clearances: Charlotte 40, Montréal 6.
• Bench volume: Synchuk came off the bench to take four shots, none on target.

What It Means

Charlotte improve to 11-6-7 with 39 points and are now unbeaten in six league matches since a 2-1 loss at Chicago Fire FC on Aug. 1, with four wins and two draws in that span. Their road trip continues Saturday at FC Cincinnati, where they will be without Schnegg. The reverse fixture earlier this season ended 2-2 at Bank of America Stadium, according to the club.

Montréal fall to 5-6-13 with 21 points and have lost three straight league matches, after a 7-1 defeat at Inter Miami CF and a 2-0 loss at the Philadelphia Union. Their last league win came on Aug. 19 at Columbus. They visit the Colorado Rapids on Saturday, then return home next Wednesday for the second leg of their Canadian Championship semifinal against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Closing Take

Charlotte did not need to be pretty in Montréal. They needed to be durable, and they were: they absorbed the possession, the corners and the weather, then struck twice when it mattered. Dean Smith's side looked less like a team splashing through puddles and more like one doing its best Gene Kelly impression, singing in the rain all the way to three points.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Match notes as reported by charlottefootballclub.com and cfmontreal.com; no postgame quotes were published on either club's site.