With less than two months to go on the last day of the MLS calendar, CF Montreal is in a much more enviable position than many observers predicted before the season began. That said, the fight for a place in the playoffs in the Eastern Conference is fully engaged, and Wilfried Nancy’s men will be in high demand with six games by October 2, including one out of schedule.
In fact, this difficult course, started last Saturday, and on a bad note with a loss of 1-0, at home, against Nashville SC. It will continue Wednesday night in often very hostile territory, that of Orlando City SC, whose home record of 7-1-4 is one of the best on the Garber circuit.
“Like many other places in the league, it’s always difficult to get a result [positif] in Orlando for a visiting club, ”admitted midfielder Djordje Mihailovic, by videoconference Monday afternoon.
“The heat is a factor, the atmosphere brought by its supporters is another element. They are very close to us in the standings, and being able to collect a result in Orlando would be very beneficial to us psychologically, but also in the standings, ”he added.
With 10 wins and 8 draws in 23 games, Orlando holds a 7-point lead over CF Montreal (8-8-7), which ranks seventh in the general classification of the Eastern Association, the last giving access to the playoffs. MLS playoffs.
When they look ahead, CF Montreal players see that New York City FC (34 points) and the Philadelphia Union (32 points) are still very accessible. DC United have the same points total as the Montreal squad, but rank sixth because of their 9 wins.
However, if they glance in the rearview mirror, they’ll see Atlanta United just one point behind, and Miami CF Inter just two points behind and with one game in the bank.
However, even before playing their match on Wednesday night, CF Montreal could have slipped one step in the standings if Miami were to defeat Toronto FC on Tuesday night in the Queen City.
As Mihailovic pointed out on Monday afternoon, the clubs will increase their intensity and, perhaps more particularly, those who are behind CF Montreal.
“We are in a really interesting position in the standings. The clubs behind us will do everything in their power to get us out [du portrait des éliminatoires], and there are only a few teams in front of us that are really close, ”first analyzed Mihailovic.
“So every game matters like it’s the last of the season. We’re going to have to tackle the bottom third of the schedule telling ourselves that every game is vital in our quest for a playoff spot. “
This streak will first see the Montreal team play a second game this week, Sunday, at Saputo stadium, against the Chicago Fire (23 points), a very strong opponent.
The other three duels may be more difficult as Wilfried Nancy’s men visit the Columbus Crew (September 25) before hosting the New England Revolution (September 29) and Atlanta United (October 2).
To all these games, we must add the one against the HFX Wanderers, on September 22, in Halifax, as part of the Canadian Championship.
Such a busy schedule is a headache for any coach who wants to manage the use of their staff as efficiently as possible.
In fact, Nancy has discovered over time that planning, however precise it may be, is difficult to maintain over such a long period of time.
“The first year I was an assistant coach, I told myself that we could plan a lot of things and then, in fact, I realized that no. Yes, it’s good to plan, but afterwards, we are obliged to “coach” the moment, ”said Nancy on this subject, Monday.
“At the time when there was Ignacio Piatti, we said to ourselves that we had to make him breathe during a given match or such match or such match or such minute, but the context of the match made it difficult . There, it’s a bit the same thing. Yes, we like to anticipate, yes we have a plan. We always have a plan B, if we need to adjust, if we need to predict the sequence of matches to come. But it is rare that we stick to this plan 100%. “
As for Wednesday’s opponent, he represents a different challenge from the one that awaited the Montreal team on Saturday night at Saputo stadium.
“Nashville, we know its qualities of defending well and exploiting blocks, and a lot of physical play. Orlando is a team that opens up a bit more, ”observed Nancy.
” Last year, [ses joueurs] had started to put things in place and this year they have a good peculiarity in their way of playing where they defend most of the time with four and, afterwards, when they attack, they attack with three defenders who remain in defense. We have something that we have to put in place to try to do better compared to the last match and to win that match. “
Watch video
–
