SUMMARY
MONTREAL – The images, almost a year old to the day, rose to the surface of our memory when we arrived at the stadium Saturday afternoon. Those of the CF Montreal players, distraught, learning the end of their season on the screen of a tablet after a tough defeat on the Columbus Crew pitch.
The team would face a similar scenario on what was shaping up to be a beautiful fall evening. A result, any result, would allow him to extend his season beyond the limits of the regular calendar. A defeat would force her to wish for the simultaneous misfortune of her rivals.
Was she going to leave control of the steering wheel in foreign hands again? The response was heard quickly, like fireworks sparkling in the sky of the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district.
Thanks to goals from Caden Clark and Josef Martínez in the first half, CF Montreal killed the suspense and cruised to a 2-0 victory over New York City FC.
By taking eighth place in the Eastern Association standings, it has ensured itself of being the host of a play-off match which will take place Tuesday at Stade Saputo. His opponent for the occasion will be Atlanta United. The winner of this duel will play a 2-of-3 series against Inter Miami.
“It feels a lot of good,” appreciated Samuel Piette, a few minutes after experiencing a beautiful moment of communion with the supporters. We’re in a good moment, we’re experiencing great emotions. Super happy to enter through the front door. »
“It’s great to shake off this bad luck,” gushed Joel Waterman, who also had in mind the defeat against Orlando in a decisive match in 2021. Especially against New York City, a team that has always given us a hard time at abroad as well as at home.
To get there, the Impact won with panache a bet that one would be tempted to describe as risky, that of leaving it to the visitors of the day to manage the ball and liven up the game.
The strategy almost backfired. After the first 45 minutes, New York had controlled almost 60% of the possession and directed three times as many shots on goal (10-3) as their hosts. But when these hit, they hit hard.
Clark increased the room for maneuver for the locals on their first real chance of the match in the 18th minute. Inheriting a pass from Bryce Duke that Martínez had skillfully let slip away, the fiery midfielder scored his fourth goal in nine games in a Montreal uniform.
“It was a bit of a special match because we knew that even if we didn’t win, we had the chance to advance,” explained Piette. So you’re a bit between two chairs. You want to be aggressive, you want to move forward, but at the same time you don’t want to expose yourself too much in the back and open the door to New York. It’s certain that when we scored that first goal, it did us a lot of good. »
Martínez practically folded the match in stoppage time in the first period. Powered by a pugnacious Clark, the ace scorer stretched his right leg to redirect a precise pass behind the goalkeeper.
From that moment on, it would have taken a monumental catastrophe to block access to the series for this “hyper-united group”, to use the captain’s words.
“If we play the same match and lose 1-0, I can see people very clearly [me dire] : ‘coach, zero control of the match’, and both are somewhat true, philosophized Laurent Courtois, who became the fourth coach in the MLS era to qualify the Impact for the playoffs in his first full year in office. It’s a bit like this situation where it’s never all black or all white. Defensively, I rarely found us in danger. On the other hand, it was hard to cause real problems in the dry cleaners. Overall, we only managed to hurt them either in transition or when they lost the ball and tried to look at it. »
“It depends so much on the result,” he summarized. We try to control what we can control. But whether it is in resilience or in technical quality and synchronization, everyone has raised their level recently and it has worked well. »
“Huge” Waterman
CF Montreal had arrived at this critical stage of its season with the wind in its sails. He had won four of his previous six games, a streak that coincided with the identification of a core of reliable and successful starters. As an added bonus, the team’s bill of health was immaculate. The winning conditions were met.
Courtois nevertheless had a big decision to make. In the absence of Nathan Saliba, suspended due to accumulation of cards, the strategist had to find a midfielder capable of complementing Piette in front of the last defensive rampart.
The options were not legion. His choice fell on Waterman, a professional defender who had occupied this position on rare occasions in the university ranks and in the Canadian Premier League. Might as well say in another life.
Courtois said he based his choice on “his management of high-level matches, the criteria that this position, in my style of play, requires in terms of volume and his technical mastery”. Waterman completed 84% of his passes, recovered twelve balls, blocked two shots and won five of his seven ground duels. The coach used the word “huge” to describe his performance.
“It’s been a long time since I ran this much, but it was great. Anything for the team,” said the Canadian international.
Waterman’s response in these exceptional circumstances means that Saliba’s absence will ultimately have been a blessing in disguise. With only two days of rest before returning to the field for a match without tomorrow, the return of a fresh and refreshed executive will not be refused for CF Montreal.
