SUMMARY
CF Montreal is obviously looking for wins, but under the circumstances, a draw represents a step in the right direction.
The Montreal squad offered more inspired play and collected a point with a 0-0 draw against Nashville SC on Saturday evening at Saputo stadium.
The contrast was striking and the message seems to have gotten through. At least, for the duration of a match.
Three days ago, in the quarter-finals of the Canadian Championship, the scene was almost uncomfortable. In front of two groups of completely silent supporters, the Bleu-blanc-noir conceded two goals in the first half before returning to the locker room to boos. The intensity rose to another level in the second half, but the damage had been done.
This 2-1 defeat against Forge FC once again brought to the fore the lack of commitment and effort from Laurent Courtois’ men for 90 minutes. On Saturday, they had nothing to complain about in these facets of the game.
“It shouldn’t be under this standard,” Courtois said. Afterwards, it will happen that you concede in specific situations, but in terms of performance, that is the standard and we no longer want it to go below that. Then there’s a lot of work to do on the choices when we get to the penalty area, but it’s not easy. »
Despite this home shutout, CF Montreal (3-7-4) has not won in its last seven MLS outings (0-4-3), which ties a team record set in 2023 and 2014. (twice). He still stopped his losing streak in the league to four.
The team added one more point to the standings, but it is quite normal that they are not satisfied with that. Especially on his land.
“It’s mixed. We are aware that we need to collect more points at home. This is the reality of things in MLS. We would have liked to come out with the victory and that is something that was possible, but if we take into account our recent situation, it is still positive,” noted goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
“A few guys talked about stopping the bleeding. I don’t like it, but it’s the reality of the moment, added Courtois. We are happy to have found this competitive spirit again, but we need to have more of it at home. »
What Montrealers also found were noisy and committed supporters. The players seemed to feed off the encouragement from the crowd and that’s a bit of their job when things don’t go well for their favorites.
After the match, Courtois took a moment to observe the scene before going to meet the fans who continued the chants.
“We would have liked to give them something else, but I loved seeing them express themselves like that. I am grateful. The guys enjoyed it and it touched us all. We look forward to giving them more back,” expressed the head coach.
Nashville SC (3-4-7) remained undefeated in its last three games (1-0-2). He defeated his opponent of the evening by a score of 4-1 earlier in May, at Geodis Park.
CF Montreal will return to action on Wednesday evening, when DC United visit.
More involved
The Bleu-blanc-noir showed this required intensity at the start of the match and he prowled near the enemy surface. Following a nice quick exchange, Joaquin Sosa had the opportunity to take a good shot, but the ball missed the target in the eighth minute.
Nashville SC also buzzed in the opponent’s territory, but Sirois swallowed the ball following a deflection of Walker Zimmerman’s head.
The game became a little livelier after the half hour of play and with a little more finishing, both teams could have got on the scoreboard.
In the 33rd minute, after a turnover by Sirois, Sam Surridge sent the ball into a free net, but Joel Waterman came to save the furniture in heroic fashion. On the return, it was Gabriele Corbo who sacrificed himself to block Jacob Shaffelburg’s attempt. Three minutes later, Sirois committed another turnover, but Hany Mukhtar missed the target.
CF Montreal knocked on the door in the 38th minute, through Jules-Anthony Vilsaint. The Quebecer’s powerful shot, however, did not fool the vigilance of Joe Willis.
Montreal picked up the pace in the second half and managed to create some good scoring opportunities. The best came from the foot of Vilsaint, who could even have passed to his left to Mathieu Choinière if he had wanted.
After being effective in limiting the damage, the visitors orchestrated a quick attack in the 68th minute, moments after making changes. Mukhtar slipped a very nice ball to Shaq Moore, but the latter came up against Sirois.
“It’s difficult mentally to not get a shot for 50 or 60 minutes and then face a one-on-one situation. There are several things going through your mind, but it was just being patient. I reacted well with my leg and I had the right reflex,” explained Sirois.
In the final minutes of the match, Willis dove to block a shot from Sunusi Ibrahim and following a corner kick, defender Jack Maher came to the aid of his goalkeeper by blocking a point-blank shot from Dominic Yankov.
2024-05-26 01:23:00
#MLS #Montreal #drew #Nashville
