Ireland Stuns Canada with Late Equalizer in Montreal
The party was meant to belong to Canada. World Cup-bound, at home in Montreal, a summer crowd at Saputo Stadium ready for a lap of honour.
Ireland had other ideas.
Chiedozie Ogbene’s sharp finish from a rebound – after Troy Parrott’s penalty was saved – earned a 1-1 draw and turned what looked like a comfortable Canadian tune-up into a far more awkward evening than Jesse Marsch’s side had planned.
Canada on top, Ireland hanging on
Heimir Hallgrimsson rang the changes after the win over Qatar, six in all, and for long stretches of the first half his reshuffled team looked exactly that: new, disjointed, second best.
There was early encouragement, and it came from the new blood. On nine minutes, Bohemians captain Dawson Devoy, handed a full debut and a rare League of Ireland cap, darted into the box after neat link-up with Ogbene and Parrott. The pass slipped him in, the angle was tight, and Maxime Crepeau closed fast. Devoy couldn’t steer his effort on target, but the scramble rattled the Canadian defence for a moment.
That was as bright as Ireland’s first half got.
Canada had already signalled their intent when Tajon Buchanan stung Mark Travers’ palms inside two minutes. Buchanan on one flank and Liam Millar on the other repeatedly drove at Ireland’s back line, forcing the visitors deeper and deeper. Corners piled up. Pressure mounted.
It told midway through the half.
Stephen Eustaquio whipped in a vicious corner from the left. Parrott, stationed at the near post, got the slightest flick. The ball flashed on, smacked off Jake O’Brien and flew in. Wrong place, wrong time for the centre-back, and Canada had the lead they fully deserved.
Ireland staggered to the interval, second best in every area, relying on Travers and last-ditch blocks to keep the score at 1-0.
Hallgrimsson rolls the dice
Hallgrimsson didn’t wait. Devoy and Corrie Ndaba made way at the break for Jamie McGrath and Liam Scales, a clear attempt to steady the structure and gain some kind of foothold.
For a while, it didn’t work.
Canada resumed control, moving the ball with confidence, pinning Ireland back again. Jonathan David dropped into pockets, Cyle Larin occupied both centre-backs, and the green shirts struggled to build anything resembling sustained possession.
Then the game flipped in a heartbeat.
Just before the hour, McGrath darted into the box and went to attack a dropping ball. Larin’s boot came up high and caught the midfielder on the head. The contact was clumsy, the decision straightforward. Penalty Ireland.
Parrott stepped up. Struck it well enough. Crepeau read it better.
The goalkeeper sprang to his side and beat the ball away, Saputo Stadium erupting in relief. But as Canadian defenders froze, Ogbene came alive. He pounced on the loose ball and swept it into the empty net for his fifth international goal, silencing the crowd and dragging Ireland level against the run of play.
From that moment, the dynamic shifted.
Young faces, new energy
Ireland, suddenly emboldened, began to press higher and pass with more conviction. Canada still carried threat – Larin almost punished a slip from Nathan Collins with 20 minutes left, only for Travers and retreating defenders to smother the danger – but the game no longer felt one-sided.
Hallgrimsson leaned into the experimental brief of the night. On came 18-year-old Mason Melia for his second cap, then Killian Phillips. The League of Ireland presence grew stronger as the minutes ticked away.
Melia nearly wrote a dream script.
On 83 minutes, Ogbene, now brimming with confidence, worked space on the right and whipped in a teasing cross. It found Melia unmarked, the teenager perfectly placed for a breakout moment. He connected, but Crepeau stood tall again, blocking what could have been a career-defining first senior international goal.
The closing stages turned into a showcase for Ireland’s emerging core. Joe Hodge entered the midfield. St Patrick’s Athletic playmaker Kian Leavy and Shamrock Rovers winger Adam Brennan followed, both making their senior bows and joining Devoy in ending a six-year wait for domestic-based players to be capped.
By the final whistle, Ireland had an XI that looked as much like a scouting mission as a senior side – and they were still level with a World Cup co-host on their own patch.
Canada had the early dominance, the possession, the chances. Ireland left with the draw, the debuts and a small surge of belief.
Next time this group gathers, it will be for the Nations League in the autumn. The question now is whether these new faces, blooded in Montreal against the odds, can turn nights like this from stubborn resistance into regular results.
