CF Montreal have a golden opportunity, Sunday against Orlando City SC, to sign their first playoff win since 2016. Who will be able to defend Wilfried Nancy’s men?
Here’s a look back at some of the great individual performances in the Montreal team’s history during the post-season calendar.
First round 2015: Patrice Bernier and Ignacio Piatti
If Montreal, in its fourth season in Major League Soccer (MLS), scored its first playoff win in 2015, it was largely thanks to Patrice Bernier and Ignacio Piatti. In the first round against Toronto FC, the Argentine is deployed in a three-way attack with Didier Drogba and Dilly Duka.
Bernier has never been outdone in this match, and it was he who opened the scoring with an assist from Piatti. The captain then became Drogba’s accomplice on a nice left cross.
“Nacho” also scored one of his classic goals against Toronto, making a shot just off the net.
Bernier’s drop in productivity continued as he hit the goal again in Game 1 of the Eastern Semifinal against the Columbus Crew. Bleu-Blanc-Noir signed a 2-1 win at Saputo Stadium with another goal from Johan Venegas.
Columbus won the second duel 3-1 after extra time, but ended the season for Mauro Biello’s troops.
Premier tour 2016: Matteo Mancosu
In 2016, the Montrealers had their best run by reaching the semifinals. It all started with a 4-2 win over DC United in the first round, when striker Matteo Mancosu scored twice.
Piatti produced another outstanding performance by hitting the target, delivering one of Mancosu’s successes and completing a whopping 97.1% of his passes.
The Italian tightened the ropes in the 43rd and 58th minutes. Laurent Ciman had set the example by scoring shortly after the initial whistle.
2016 Eastern Semifinal: Evan Bush
The Impact also beat the New York Red Bulls in the quarter-finals in 2016, winning 3-1 overall. Mancosu was the only scorer in the first leg at Stade Saputo, during which goalkeeper Evan Bush made three saves.
The American was foiled only once in the second match. He had made a penalty by mowing Gonzalo Veron in his area after a Victor Cabrera mistake, but he had blocked Sacha Kljestan’s shot by diving to his right.
In the Eastern Final, Montreal was stopped by Toronto, who needed extra time to save themselves with a 7-5 overall win. Mancosu and Piatti (twice) had added to their scoring tally for the year.
Remember that all matches in the series will be broadcast on TVA Sports and TVA Sports Direct. The match between CF Montreal and Orlando City SC will be presented on Sunday starting at 19:00.
