CF Montreal had prepared well for their duel against New York City FC, but they ultimately failed their exam on Wednesday night.
The Bleu-blanc-noir conceded two goals in the first half and lost 2-0 to the New Yorkers at Yankee Stadium.
In the days leading up to the game, head coach Hernan Losada talked about the narrow and small field on which the NYCFC plays, he also mentioned the new players who have recently arrived in the “Cityzens”. Unfortunately, his men ran out of solutions.
In fact, they found some in the second half, but New York City FC (6-10-11) already seemed to be in protective mode. The damage had already been done in the space of seven minutes in the first half.
“Obviously there was a difference between the first half and the second. At the beginning, it was complicated for us. I don’t know if it’s because of the terrain, but that’s for both teams. Our collective has managed to improve, but their two goals were scored in situations that we can avoid,” analyzed Losada.
The two goals in question came from Andres Jasson and Monsef Bakrar. It was a first career MLS goal for Bakrar, who arrived in New York in mid-July.
The common denominator of these two successes is that CF Montreal (11-13-2) got caught applying light pressure, despite the reduced space on the field, and that they was unable to recover long balls from his opponents.
Losada had targeted midfielders Andres Perea and Keaton Parks for NYCFC’s attacking raises, but they were able to create attack without a problem in the first half.
“We pressured Perea and Parks because we knew they were the two creative players, but when they played the long ball to avoid the pressure, our midfielders weren’t there in time. We needed to be closer in pressure. Even when there was a bad touch, they had the chance to get the ball back because we were far away. The two goals, that was it,” Losada noted.
The game could have been different had Lassi Lappalainen hit the target in the 19th minute, rather than seeing the ball hit the crossbar. Goalkeeper Matt Freese also stopped a shot from Mathieu Choinière that could have reduced the lead to one goal in the second half.
Nothing to help the record of the Montreal troupe abroad this season. She suffered a 10th defeat in 14 games and she was shut out for a 10th time on opposing courts in 2023.
“We need too many chances to score, simply dropped Losada. When we are abroad, we have to be efficient. »
Despite suffering a first setback in their last four outings, CF Montreal missed an opportunity to distance themselves from NYCFC and other teams in the hunt for the Eastern Conference playoffs. The sum of favorable results on Wednesday still allowed him to maintain eighth place.
Nick Cushing’s men came within three points of the Chicago Fire and ninth and last place giving access to the playoffs.
Injured in training during the Montrealers’ matchless break, forward Ariel Lassiter returned to the game. He had missed his team’s two victories on their return from their early elimination from the Coupe des Ligues.
CF Montreal will return to action on Saturday night by hosting Wilfried Nancy and the Columbus Crew. This will be Nancy’s first game at Stade Saputo since taking charge of the Crew during the off-season.
Two quick goals that hurt
CF Montreal was able to counter the enemy attacks early in the game and they managed to buzz in attack. Lappalainen’s right-footed shot beat Freese, but not the crossbar.
New York City FC responded a few minutes later when Braian Cufre grazed the crossbar following a powerful left-footed shot.
The local team was able to recover with two quick goals, in the 30th and 37th minutes.
After accepting a pass through the middle, Cufre sent the ball to his right to Jasson, who caught defender Gabriele Corbo on the wrong foot before unleashing a precise left-footed shot. NYCFC added more when Bakrar got past Joel Waterman to outwit Jonathan Sirois with a low shot.
Trailing by two goals, the Montrealers picked up the pace in the second half and tried their luck a few times without opening their scoring. Lassiter and Choinière both came up against Freese.
The New York team thought they had scored a third goal when Maximiliano Moralez huddled behind the opposing defense to move the ropes in the 69th minute, but the referee on the sidelines ruled that the Argentine was in an offside position.
The Bleu-blanc-noir was unable to threaten in the last quarter of an hour, which was jerky due to numerous stoppages, and he saw his winning streak come to an end.
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2023-08-31 03:44:02
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