Observers might not have predicted him third place in the Eastern Conference with a third of the season to play, but CF Montreal showed on Saturday night that they had not stolen their place among the best teams in the ballast.
Although they had to settle for a 0-0 draw, CF Montreal put on a very strong performance against defending MLS champions New York City FC and kind of kicked off a small warning to the other formations.
Emotions were on edge at Saputo Stadium, as the players were able to watch a touching video paying tribute to assistant coach Jason Di Tullio, who died Friday morning of brain cancer, but from the first seconds, the Blue -blanc-noir set a pace that his opponents struggled to follow during the encounter.
The Montreal troops dominated possession of the ball, at almost 59 percent, they led shots on net 13-2 and they did not allow any shots on target to New York City FC. It was only the fifth time since joining MLS in 2012 that CF Montreal failed to give an opponent a shot on target.
“People will remember the result, but we really want to focus on our performance. It’s a performance that sends a message. Our team was dominant, we dominated possession and New York City FC weren’t threatening. Yes, they are the defending champions and they are ahead of us in the standings, but with all due respect, I only saw one team on the pitch today,” insisted midfielder Samuel Piette.
CF Montreal, who took the opportunity to avenge a bitter 4-1 loss at Yankee Stadium on March 12, remained six points behind New York City FC, in second place. However, he holds a six-point lead over Orlando City SC and the Columbus Crew, his next opponent.
Less than a month ago, the Montreal team ended its trip to the American West by suffering a 4-0 loss at the hands of the Los Angeles Galaxy. When she returned to Stade Saputo, she was surprised by the 2-1 score against Sporting de Kansas City, the worst club in the Western Conference.
Since these two rather difficult defensive games, CF Montreal has righted the ship and has not been defeated in its last three outings (2-0-1). Above all, he allowed only one goal, against DC United, last Saturday.
“I know that my team is capable of playing very high level matches. We don’t live by statistics alone, but it’s great what the players have accomplished against New York City FC. Today (Saturday) the players were beautiful to see. All that was missing was the result, but for now, what interests me is that the latest performances are super interesting,” said CF Montreal head coach Wilfried Nancy.
“Of course we want to attack, but we also have to be good at defending,” he added. Defending as we did tonight (Saturday) will allow us to move forward. »
New York City FC arrived at Stade Saputo without MLS top scorer Valentin Castellanos, who will now play for Girona FC in the Spanish Premier League on loan. Castellanos’ 13 goals in 17 games this season certainly wouldn’t have hurt the visitors’ cause on Saturday.
“Obviously Castellanos left the team so they are looking to find their identity and we know they are not playing with full squads. The way New York City FC plays, it’s still one of the best teams in MLS. We struggled with the shutouts and getting one against them I think will push us in the right direction going forward,” defender Kamal Miller said.
And the rest of things for CF Montreal, it is a possibility of solidifying its place for the playoffs in the East while dismissing in passing the formations that are chasing it.
Four of the next five games for Wilfried Nancy’s men will be against teams not currently in the playoffs. They will first have the opportunity to get away from the Crew on Wednesday, before competing against Inter Miami CF (11th in the East), the Houston Dynamo (11th in the West), the New England Revolution (ninth in the East) and the Chicago Fire (eighth in the East).
It only remains to be seen if CF Montreal will be able to maintain its momentum and if it will do enough to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
To see in video
–
