We perhaps believed in new hope at the end of the match. But the empire finally counterattacked in the face of less tenacious rebels.
CF Montreal lost 4-1 to Nashville, Tennessee, Saturday evening, as part of the Star Wars evening at GEODIS Park. The extinguished stars of the CFM were completely eclipsed by those revived by the locals in this meeting.
They won the battle outright during a catastrophic first half for Laurent Courtois’ men. A somewhat surprising scenario, given Nashville’s form this season: it hosted Montreal even though it had not won in its last five games.
However, only Gary Smith’s squad showed up, especially in the first half.
Asphyxiated, mired in its zone, the CFM may have had majority possession of the ball, but it was sterile. And Nashville took the opportunity to win every battle. Designated player Sam Surridge opened the scoring in the 11the minute on a good shot in the area. At the 21e minute, Walker Zimmerman threaded the needle from the header to the goal to make it 2-0 on a perfect shot from the excellent Hany Mukhtar taken from the corner.
PHOTO CASEY GOWER, USA TODAY SPORTS
Walker Zimmerman (25) scored in the 21e minute
After this catastrophic start, which could have been even more so had it not been for Jonathan Sirois’ great saves, the locals eased off somewhat, and Montreal began to find some openings. But nothing very conclusive.
Obviously, Laurent Courtois’ CF Montreal is struggling against teams with intense pressing. This was the case against DC United a few weeks ago, it was this Saturday evening in Nashville.
Upon returning from the locker room, Leia, in search of her only hope like the CFM, would not even have had time to record her message to Obi-Wan Kenobi that Nashville was 3-0 on a strike from Surridge, again.
With nothing left to lose, Courtois made no less than four substitutions on the same change just before the hour mark: Riza Zouhir, Sunusi Ibrahim, Gabriele Corbo and Mason Toye took their places. And it briefly had the desired effect.
PHOTO CASEY GOWER, USA TODAY SPORTS
Hany Mukhtar (10) and Samuel Piette (6) compete for the ball
A good low cross from Ruan, on the right, found the foot… of Walker Zimmerman, in his own area. The veteran defender redirected the ball into his own net, it was 3-1 in the 65the minute.
This upheaval in Montreal did not last long. Nashville let the visitors play the game, but in the absence of no less than eight injured players, Montreal did not have the weapons to compete.
Sam Surridge completed his hat trick in the 82nde, putting on the final 4-1. We are talking here about the worst attack in MLS, before this meeting.
Through this difficult performance, it should be noted that Mathieu Choinière was the fairest player among his team. The Quebecer, who requested to be traded from the CFM due to stalled contract negotiations, completed 95% of his 73 passes and won 8 of his 12 duels.
Montreal will not have much time to recover from this crushing defeat. He faces Hamilton Forge in the Canadian Championship next Tuesday… at 11 a.m.