It might take them a while to get going, but MTL City FC have been together long enough to know exactly the right time to turn up the heat.

“Sometimes half the game has gone by before the engine gets started” explains Omar Faruque, alluding to the fact that most of his players have already played a few games before hitting the field, as was the case in this week’s 7-2 win over FC Fusion. “What made the difference in the halftime break is that Kevin Luarca was under pressure. His mom was watching and he wouldn’t have had a place to sleep if we had lost the game!”

If Omar ‘Bergevin-Ferguson’ Faruque and friends come off as familiar, it’s because most of the MTL City crew has known each other since elementary school, their relationships later cemented while playing in elite teams like Concordia and Bourassa. Several have even trained in the Impact Academy.

Somehow, this winter still feels like a fresh start.

“The full team never really played together at the same time and the experience has been good so far. We all come from different visible minorities and underprivileged communities and built a brotherhood we call La Familia.”

POTG: “All the players contributed a lil’ something for each goal. Kevin Luarca scored four and is now at the top of the league. Graik Ockana, Alexis Solis and Mohammed Nabi, my three main defenders, created the plays for each goal.”