CF Montreal kept their chances of making the playoffs in the MLS Eastern Conference with a 2-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night at Saputo Stadium.
Defenders Rudy Camacho and Kamal Miller scored the Montreal side’s goals in a four-minute interval in the second half.
Sent in goal for CF Montreal for a second straight game in MLS, Sebastian Breza blocked three shots and completed his second shutout of the season, his seventh start.
With the victory, CF Montreal (12-11-10) now totals 46 points, two less than Orlando City SC, inactive on Wednesday night.
The Florida team is now the target of Wilfried Nancy’s men as the two teams will face off on Sunday afternoon at the Saputo stadium to conclude the season. Another victory for CF Montreal would secure them a participation in the playoffs.
Wednesday’s game marked the return of starting midfielder Victor Wanyama and striker Romell Quioto. The Honduran started the game as a reserve before making his entry in the 66th minute.
Wanyama and Quioto hadn’t played since Oct. 2 against Atlanta United.
For its part, the Dynamo (6-16-12), which was already eliminated in the Western Conference, came to Montreal without two of its top four scorers, including former Impact Maximiliano Urruti. The other two, Fafa Picault and Tyler Pasher, started the game among the substitutes.
The Dynamo also called on a goaltender, Kyle Morton, who had never before played a career game in MLS.
Lack of precision
As was to be expected, given the stakes of the match and the poor quality of the opponent, CF Montreal quickly stormed the edge of the Dynamo penalty area.
He spent the vast majority of time there in the first half, landing no less than 13 shots at Morton. However, the Dynamo goalkeeper only had to make three saves during those first 45 minutes of play.
Morton also had the help of his teammates, who blocked five shots from CF Montreal. The most important intervention came from defender Sam Junqua, who saved a certain goal by interfering in front of a shot from Djordje Mihailovic, in the 28th minute, after a nice back pass from Mathieu Choinière, while the opposing goalkeeper was out of position.
It is not clear if the change of sides had something to do with it, but the Dynamo completely dominated the first 10 minutes of play of the second half.
Between the 50th and 52nd minute, the visitors attempted three quality shots. Two of them forced Breza to make good saves and the third rolled just off the post to the right of the CF Montreal goalkeeper.
After these moments of fright, the Montreal team opened the floodgates with goals from Camacho, in the 58th minute of play, then from Miller, in the 62nd. Both goals came from Mihailovic’s corner kicks.
These two goals, above all, warmed the hearts of the spectators gathered in the stands of the Saputo stadium and cooled the enthusiasm of the Dynamo players, who never really threatened.