SUMMARY
Everything had been said about the reunion between Wilfried Nancy and Laurent Courtois and it was up to the players to make the difference during the expected confrontation between CF Montreal and the Columbus Crew. In a clash where there were few openings, the two teams reached a 0-0 draw on Saturday evening.
This was the Bleu-blanc-noir head coach’s first match against his former team. Before the game, he took a few minutes to chat with his counterpart Nancy.
In the circumstances, this is a result that will not displease both teams. The visitors fulfilled their mandate of getting a result on the opponent’s pitch, while the locals were able to limit the damage in the absence of several of their attacking stars, ahead of the second leg of the semi-final. CONCAFAF Champions Cup final next Wednesday against Monterrey.
Jonathan Sirois blocked all four shots on target on his net, in addition to getting a little help from his crossbar, to preserve his second shutout of the season.
Despite this positive result against the home of the reigning champions, Courtois’ men have won just one of their last six games and have collected just five points during that stretch. Despite everything, CF Montreal (3-3-3) showed that it had what it took to compete against anyone in the MLS, not suffering defeat for a third outing in a row (1-0-2) .
In contrast, Nancy’s squad has not won in six MLS outings, after a setback and a fifth consecutive draw since their last victory on March 16. The Crew remained undefeated at home for a 21st game in a row (15-0-6). He has not lost in front of his supporters since April 29, 2023.
A few key members of the Crew were getting a night off, including Darlington Nagbe and Cucho Hernandez, as the team already turns its attention to Wednesday’s second leg against Monterrey. Last Wednesday, the Crew scored a massive victory by winning 2-1 in hostile territory, in Mexico. A win or draw against Monterrey would allow the Crew to reach the final for the chance to become the second MLS team to win the CONCACAF title.
In addition to attackers Matias Coccaro, Josef Martinez and Kwadwo Opoku, midfielder Lassi Lappalainen and defender Joaquin Sosa were absent for the Montrealers.
Courtois’ men will return to action away against Nashville SC next Saturday.
Storms contained on both sides
Ariel Lassiter had the only shot on target in the first half when he took advantage of a nice opening from Samuel Piette on the left, but his shot was easily blocked by Patrick Schulte. In general, the CF Montreal attack lacked organization and several plays were aborted between Bryce Duke, Mathieu Choinière and attacker Mason Toye.
In the 36th minute, Raheem Edwards made a strong tackle in the penalty area at the expense of Quebecer Mo Farsi. If the tackle was successful, the audacity of the gesture could easily have backfired against CF Montreal, who had not given any real opening until then.
After a few minutes of action, it was clear that the pace would be much greater on both sides in the second half. The Crew came within inches of going ahead in the opening moments when Alexandru Matan crossed for Marino Hinestroza just in front of the cage, but the latter redirected the ball onto the crossbar.
Young Canadian Jacen Russell-Rowe also had a quality chance a few minutes later, but the 21-year-old striker’s shot was blocked by a fine save from Jonathan Sirois.
Lassiter moved down the left again in the 53rd minute, but Duke chose to let his cross pass to Choinière who was unable to land a convincing shot. Once again, the lucidity of the decision of the number 10 of CF Montreal did not seem to be on point and the threat quickly faded.
The crossbar again helped CF Montreal’s case shortly after the hour mark when a deflected ball into the box was redirected towards Russell-Rowe’s header which just missed the mark.
Duke made its best play of the match just before the 70th minute. His pass launched Jules-Anthony Vilsaint towards the goalkeeper, but the Quebec striker’s ground shot was absorbed by Schulte.
In the 82nd minute, Yaw Yeboah broke away from Ruan in the penalty area, but as he struggled to keep his balance, his shot went to the left of Sirois and out of bounds.
In stoppage time, a moment which has often played tricks on CF Montreal recently, Sirois made his best save of the match by repelling a long curling shot from Max Arfsten who believed he had resolved the intrigue of this match.
2024-04-28 00:29:27
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