MONTREAL – Just a few weeks ago, any comparison with last season would have been considered an insult at CF Montreal.
In fact, Joel Waterman seemed a little offended when, on the eve of the first match of the Canadian Championship against Forge FC, a journalist suggested that this was a great opportunity for his team to get back on the straight and narrow. after some unfavorable results. “I don’t believe at all that our situation is the same as last year,” said the defender.
Since this declaration, Montreal has been in free fall. Hard to swallow defeats against Miami and Columbus were only the insult that preceded the insult, a slap received on the Toronto FC field.
The current sequence is reminiscent of the desert crossing that the team imposed on itself at the very beginning of Hernán Losada’s reign. And what oasis had this thirsty group finally drank before finding a second wind? We give it to you in a thousand. After a smooth victory against Vaughan Azzurri, the Impact continued with five consecutive successes, reaching mid-May with a record of .500.
Laurent Courtois’ troops can only hope that a triumph against Hamilton on Wednesday at Stade Saputo will have a similar ripple effect, especially as the match, the second in a home-and-away series tied 1-1, will be the point start of a streak of five out of six at home.
So how do we get there? How do we get out of this crater which has just scarred our route and which currently gives the impression of being a bottomless hole?
“It’s really about being united,” suggested Mathieu Choinière before Tuesday’s training. Make the little efforts that the world doesn’t see, the little sprint to get back in front of the player, be united in these efforts. »
“The big word is to be united and make the necessary efforts,” insisted the midfielder.
At the same microphone, a few minutes later, Courtois was asked if it was possible that all his players “aren’t pushing in the same direction” or “don’t give the same effort”.
“I don’t think anyone cheats,” he replied. But there is a way to ensure that we are even more united than that. Doing my job is not enough. I have to do the extra, the little extra, and how can I help the friend next door? For now, in fits and starts, I find that there are times when we are content to do our work when there is always something extra to do. »
“I’m not just talking about the players,” Courtois said. All of us, at our level, have a little more to give. We have to go back to basics and after having contributed my part, how can I contribute something extra to help my friend? »
Maturity
The first round against Forge FC did not go as CF Montreal had planned. The Canadian Premier League team was the first to score, in the 32nd minute. The first half left Courtois so hungry that he made four changes at intermission.
With a revamped formation, Montreal created the tie, but was unable to improve its situation further. In retrospect, Courtois is of the opinion that despite all the good moves of the opponent, his team especially got itself into difficulty.
“There is a scenario which is the return match. We’ll see if we’ll have enough maturity, which we haven’t had until now. We have shown, in fits and starts, quality, courage and a lot of bad things, but if there is one thing where I know we are not yet ready, it is in the maturity aspect . I hope that here, we will succeed in approaching this element depending on the scenario in a slightly more effective way. »
Hamilton has also been looking for his bearings since the first clash between the two teams, having had to settle for one point out of a possible six in the CPL.
Coach Bobby Smyrniotis’ team also had to play its final game without the services of injured forward Jordan Hamilton.
In the Montreal camp, Courtois mentioned that even though he had returned to training without restrictions, Nathan Saliba was not yet quite ready to return to the game.
This is the fourth consecutive year that Forge and CF Montreal have met in the Canadian Championship. The underdogs gave the favorites a good scare during the first duel in 2021, but logic always ended up being respected.
This year, the context seems favorable for a surprise. What reaction does the Blue-White-Black have in store for us?
2024-05-22 01:00:00
#Montréal #call #solidarity
