Ireland Stuns Canada with Late Equalizer in Montreal
The stage belonged to Canada. A packed Saputo Stadium, a World Cup on the horizon, Jesse Marsch’s side in confident stride.
Ireland tore up the script.
Chiedozie Ogbene’s instinctive second-half equaliser – lashed in after Troy Parrott’s saved penalty – silenced the party and secured a 1-1 draw, a result that owed as much to resilience as it did to a new wave of Irish caps making their case.
Canada on top, Ireland chasing shadows
Heimir Hallgrimsson rang the changes from the win over Qatar, six in total, and leaned heavily on home talent. Bohemians captain Dawson Devoy went straight into the XI, the first League of Ireland player to start for the senior side since Jack Byrne in 2020. Jaden Umeh and Corrie Ndaba were also handed first starts.
Devoy nearly marked the occasion with a dream moment on nine minutes. A neat exchange with Ogbene and Parrott sliced Canada open, Parrott sliding the midfielder into the box. The angle was tight, Maxime Crepeau closed fast, and Devoy’s effort skewed off target, but it rattled the Canadian defence and hinted at Irish promise.
That promise evaporated quickly.
From the second minute, Tajon Buchanan drove at green shirts and stung the palms of Mark Travers. On the opposite flank, Liam Millar repeatedly forced Ireland backwards. Canada hemmed Hallgrimsson’s side in, penned them towards their own box and began to rack up corners.
The pressure told midway through the half.
Stephen Eustaquio whipped in a vicious corner from the left. Parrott, stationed at the near post, got the slightest touch with his head. Behind him, Jake O’Brien could do nothing as the ball cannoned off him and flew past Travers. An own goal, harsh on the defender, but entirely in keeping with the direction of the game.
Ireland staggered to the interval second best, struggling to build attacks, struggling even to keep the ball.
Hallgrimsson rolls the dice
The response came at half-time. Jamie McGrath and Liam Scales replaced Devoy and Ndaba, and with them came a little more bite and balance.
Canada still controlled the early stages of the second period. Jonathan David and Cyle Larin probed, Buchanan stayed dangerous, and Ireland’s back line lived on the edge. Yet there was more aggression in Ireland’s press, more willingness to step in and break the rhythm.
Then the game flipped.
Just before the hour, McGrath darted into the box and went to attack a dropping ball. Larin’s boot was too high and caught the midfielder on the head. The contact was clear, the decision straightforward: penalty Ireland.
Parrott grabbed the ball. A chance to change the story.
Crepeau guessed right and pushed the spot-kick away. Saputo roared. For a split second, Canada relaxed.
Ogbene did not.
He reacted quicker than anyone, pouncing on the loose ball and driving it into the unguarded net for his fifth international goal. A poacher’s finish, all sharpness and anticipation, and suddenly the World Cup co-hosts were dragged into a contest they thought they had under control.
Young Ireland grow into it
Ireland grew from that moment. Passes began to stick, the press bit higher, and Canada’s earlier fluency dipped. Still, danger lurked. With 20 minutes left, a slip from Nathan Collins almost undid the work; Larin seized on the error and went close to restoring the lead, only for Ireland to escape.
Hallgrimsson then turned to the future.
Mason Melia came on for his second cap, the teenage Tottenham Hotspur forward stepping into a tight game rather than a procession. Killian Phillips followed, adding fresh legs in midfield.
Melia’s big moment arrived on 83 minutes. Ogbene, again the livewire, swung in a teasing cross from the right. The former St Patrick’s Athletic youngster found space and met it cleanly, but Crepeau stood firm and blocked what could have been a career-defining first senior international goal.
The chance felt huge. The save, bigger still.
As the clock wound down, Hallgrimsson doubled down on his domestic experiment. Joe Hodge, Kian Leavy of St Pat’s and Shamrock Rovers winger Adam Brennan all entered the fray, joining Devoy in snapping a six-year wait for League of Ireland players to feature for the senior team. An experimental side, but not a soft one. They saw out the final minutes with composure and no little grit.
Canada, for all their early dominance, could not find a way back through the reshaped Irish ranks.
The World Cup co-hosts head towards the autumn with questions to answer about turning control into victories. Ireland, meanwhile, leave Montreal with a draw, a clutch of new caps, and the sense that a new core might be forming just in time for the Nations League.
