MONTREAL – In the little darkness represented by the winless streak that CF Montreal is going through, the draw snatched from Columbus at the end of April was considered a ray of sunshine. A reason to believe, perhaps, that the team could revive itself by surprising the reigning MLS Cup champions during their visit to Stade Saputo.
That didn’t happen.
Against a much stronger opposition on paper, the CFM fought well but admitted defeat with a score of 3-1.
The decisive goal struck the locals like a dagger in the 59th minute, just after a triple change prepared by Laurent Courtois. After a fiery descent from defender Steven Moreira towards the Montreal area, Diego Rossi slipped behind the defense and completed the job without being disturbed.
Stripped of its main offensive weapons, Montreal did not find the resources to close the gap, even being knocked out under the foot of Marino Hinestroza in the 89th minute. Here he is now without success in his last six matches, since the opening of his local season a month ago.
The Crew, for its part, signed its first victory in MLS since March 16. Montreal has still not managed to beat Columbus since its former coach Wilfried Nancy moved there before the 2023 season.
In the defeat, young recruit Alessandro Biello got his first minutes of play at Stade Saputo. The midfielder came on in the 75th minute, to cheers from the crowd, in response to an injury to Mason Toye. The latter, sent into action six minutes earlier, said he was unable to continue after making a harmless run behind the defense.
The celebration of Choinière
Montreal’s goal came from the foot of Mathieu Choinière, who tied the game 1-1 at the end of the first half.
Just before stoppage time, Sunusi Ibrahim sent a deep ball to Joaquín Sosa. Thanks to a boltesque sprint, the Uruguayan defender arrived at the goal just in time to run into the gloves of goalkeeper Patrick Schulte. Penalty.
Choinière converted authoritatively, then headed to the sidelines orchestrating a cryptic celebration. The midfielder alternately covered his ears, his mouth and his eyes, a move reminiscent of the three wise monkeys in Japanese legend.
The meaning of the small figurines differs depending on the sources consulted. It remains to be seen what Choinière, who has still not spoken publicly since information was released to the effect that he had demanded a transaction, had in mind when drawing inspiration from it.
More details to come.
2024-05-16 01:30:00
#MLS #Montreals #defense #tested #Columbus #Crew
