MONTREAL — CF Montreal knew what to expect from head coach Wilfried Nancy’s attacking style, but it was all in the details. Especially in the first half.
Like a heavyweight fight, Nancy and the Columbus Crew gave and received blows, but they defeated the Bleu-blanc-noir by a score of 4-2, Saturday night, at Saputo Stadium.
Much like he asked Montreal players in 2022, when he guided them to a record-breaking season and a second-place finish in the Eastern Conference standings, Nancy has established an effective possession system with the Crew (13 -8-6).
CF Montreal (11-14-2) therefore had the idea of applying high pressure and forcing their opponents to attempt long balls. When they did, however, they took advantage of it.
Through lost one-on-one battles, player losses in coverage and errors with the ball, head coach Hernan Losada delivered a scathing analysis of his men’s first half.
“I think collectively we might have had our worst game of the season defensively,” he said. They scored on their chances and they were more attentive than us when we made mistakes.
Defender Gabriele Corbo scored an own goal in the first half and Cucho Hernandez added two goals to send the visitors into the locker room with a 3-0 lead.
Still, midfielder Samuel Piette didn’t feel like the visitors had had as many golden chances as the scoreline showed. The Quebecer even expressed his disagreement with his head coach’s analysis.
“I don’t think I agree with what Hernan said,” Piette said. We lacked concentration and we missed a few duels which hurt in the first half. I want our game to be aggressive and that’s what we did tonight. They played long and that’s what we wanted. Unfortunately, they got us on it and we thought we could cover them. Afterwards, if you don’t win these duels, it’s difficult and you suffer defensively, but I thought we showed a solid block.
Injured against New York City FC on Wednesday, defender Joel Waterman did not face the Crew, further shaking the Montreal defense.
Hernandez completed his hat trick by converting a penalty in the second half. Referee Filip Dujic hadn’t called George Campbell’s foul on Hernandez, but video refereeing assistance eventually ruled a penalty was necessary.
Transported by the crowd, which never stopped believing in it, CF Montreal still scored two goals in the second half. Kwadwo Opoku and Jules-Anthony Vilsaint, with his first career MLS goal, hit the mark.
“Of course it feels good and it helps to cheer me up, but unfortunately it comes in a losing cause, mentioned Vilsaint. We thought about going up the slope and at that moment, I had the mentality that we could score another goal.
The Montreal squad suffered a second consecutive loss, but remained eighth in the East. His five-point lead, however, has shrunk to three with seven games to go.
The Crew, who currently have the best offense in MLS with 54 goals, recorded their first road victory since June 10, when they defeated the Fire in Chicago.
In the Montreal camp, midfielder Ousman Jabang got his first career start in MLS and he was replaced at the start of the second half. Defender Fernando Alvarez meanwhile made his first appearance on the Garber circuit, playing 45 minutes.
CF Montreal will take advantage of the international break to recharge the batteries and will resume action on Saturday, September 16 by hosting the Fire.
Lots of action
The Bleu-blanc-noir quickly went on the attack as they buzzed into enemy territory from the first minute, but to no avail.
The Crew also got going early in the game, receiving some goodies from the home side.
In the 13th minute, Campbell gave the ball to Darlington Nagbe, who spotted Christian Ramirez late on his own. His shot, however, just missed the target. A few moments later, Julian Gressel came from the right side and his cross touched the foot of Corbo before thwarting Jonathan Sirois.
The visitors doubled their lead in the 23rd minute. Diego Rossi was patient past Jabang and his cross eventually found a header from Hernandez, who capitalized on Ramirez’s pass into the penalty area.
Both teams exchanged chances in the penalty area but missed finishing. Hernandez showed them how in the 43rd minute. Yaw Yeboah slid the ball towards his teammate, who sent it into the net. He looked in an offside position, but Dujic and his counterparts didn’t call anything.
After the game, a representative of the referees said that “as the camera was not parallel to the action, it was not possible to determine if Hernandez was offside”.
It was also the return to Montreal of defender Rudy Camacho and he pleased his former teammates when he made a mistake in front of Vilsaint. It was finally Opoku who completed the maneuver.
About ten minutes later. Campbell lightly nudged Hernandez, who threw himself to the ground in pain. Hernandez, however, was in great form to take the penalty himself which made it 4-1.
The CF Montreal players continued to fight and Vilsaint scored his first goal of the campaign by redirecting a cross from Matko Miljevic with his left foot.
The Crew then had fun running out the seconds, notably taking a long time before putting the ball into play, under the eyes of Dujic. It was enough to confirm the victory.
#Montreal #loses #Crew #Wilfried #Nancy #returns #Granby #Express
