Ireland Stuns Canada with Late Equalizer in Montreal

Chiedozie Ogbene silenced Saputo Stadium and tore up Canada’s World Cup send-off script, snapping up a rebound to drag the Republic of Ireland to a 1-1 draw in Montreal.

It was scruffy, opportunistic and absolutely priceless. It also arrived just when Jesse Marsch’s side looked ready to turn a dominant night into a comfortable win.

Canada on top, Ireland hanging on

Heimir Hallgrimsson had promised experimentation and he delivered it. Six changes from the team that beat Qatar, three League of Ireland players in from the start, and a starting XI that looked as much like a scouting mission as a settled side.

For nine minutes, it worked. Dawson Devoy, handed his debut and the honour of becoming the first LOI-based Ireland international since Jack Byrne in 2020, almost wrote his name across the night. A neat move down the right saw Ogbene and Troy Parrott combine, Parrott sliding Devoy into the box. From a tight angle and under the onrushing frame of Maxime Crepeau, the Bohemians captain could only stab wide, but the panic in Canada’s defence was real.

That was as bright as Ireland’s first half got.

Canada seized control quickly. Tajon Buchanan drove at the Irish back line from the off, stinging Mark Travers’ hands inside two minutes. Liam Millar matched the threat from the opposite flank, stretching James Abankwah and Corrie Ndaba and forcing Ireland deeper and deeper.

The corners began to stack up. The pressure grew. The breakthrough felt inevitable.

It came midway through the half, and it was ugly from an Irish perspective. Stephen Eustaquio whipped in a vicious corner from the left, Parrott flicked it at the near post, and the ball cannoned off Jake O’Brien and over the line. Wrong place, wrong time for the centre-back, who could do nothing as the ball crashed into him and in.

By half-time, Canada were a goal up and in control. Ireland were chasing shadows, struggling to build from midfield, and relying on Travers and last-ditch blocks to stay in touch.

Hallgrimsson rolls the dice

Hallgrimsson reacted at the break. Devoy and Ndaba made way, Jamie McGrath and Liam Scales sent on to bring a little more control and composure.

Initially, it didn’t change much. Canada kept the ball, kept probing, and kept Ireland penned in. Jonathan David dropped into pockets, Cyle Larin occupied both centre-backs, and the hosts looked every inch a World Cup-bound side tuning up against a team still trying to work out what it is.

Then the game flipped in a moment of rashness.

McGrath, one of the half-time introductions, darted into the box just before the hour. Larin went to clear, misjudged the height of the ball and caught McGrath high on the head with a raised boot. The contact was clumsy, the decision straightforward. Penalty to Ireland.

Parrott stepped up. Crepeau guessed right, plunging to save and sending a roar around the stadium.

It lasted seconds.

Ogbene, alive to the rebound while everyone else paused, sprinted in and swept the loose ball into the empty net for his fifth international goal. Against the run of play, Ireland were level and suddenly playing with a bit of swagger.

Young guns and missed moments

The goal settled Ireland. Passes started to stick, the press had more bite, and Canada briefly lost their rhythm. Yet the hosts still carried a threat. Larin almost atoned for his error when Nathan Collins slipped with 20 minutes left, but the striker couldn’t punish him.

Hallgrimsson kept leaning into his experimental brief. On came Mason Melia on 70 minutes for his second cap, the Tottenham Hotspur teenager replacing Jaden Umeh. Killian Phillips followed, then later Joe Hodge, Kian Leavy and Adam Brennan – a wave of youth and, crucially, a strong League of Ireland flavour.

Melia almost stole the night.

On 83 minutes, Ogbene again provided the spark, driving down the right and hanging a perfect cross into the box. Melia found space, rose to meet it and connected cleanly. Crepeau, though, stood between the 18-year-old and a dream moment, beating the effort away and denying Ireland a famous late winner.

Those final minutes belonged to the kids. Leavy, the St Patrick’s Athletic attacker, and Shamrock Rovers winger Brennan both entered in the closing stages, joining Devoy in snapping a six-year wait for domestic-based caps at senior level. Hodge, based in Portugal, added another fresh face to a suddenly youthful Irish core.

They were thrown into a tight game, away to World Cup co-hosts, and they saw it out.

A draw with meaning

On paper, it reads as a 1-1 friendly draw. In reality, it felt like something more useful for Ireland: a night where a patched-together side absorbed long spells of pressure, rode their luck, and still found enough resilience and sharpness to take something from a superior opponent.

Canada will board the plane with questions about ruthlessness in front of goal and a reminder that dominance means little without a killer touch.

Ireland leave Montreal with a result, a clutch of new internationals, and a clearer look at the next generation.

Next up is the Nations League in the autumn. On this evidence, Hallgrimsson’s biggest dilemma might not be where to find talent – but how quickly to trust it.