CF Montreal celebrated their return to MLS play after a two-week hiatus with their first win of the season, 4-3 over FC Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon at TQL Stadium.
CF Montreal (1-3-1) ended a four-game winless streak at the start of the season and beat FC Cincinnati (2-4-0) at home for the first time in club history.
Joaquin Torres scored the winning goal in the 67and minute, when he recovered a free ball near the net after an attempted cross from Kei Kamara that goalkeeper Alec Kann had partially touched with his right hand while diving.
Kamara also played a strong game and scored an important goal just before the end of the first half.
The big star for CF Montreal was Djordje Mihailovic, author of his second and third goals of the season, in the first half.
Brandon Vazquez, in the first half, and Luciano Acosta, on a penalty shot in the second half, beat Sebastian Breza. Alistair Johnston was also charged with an own goal in the first half.
CF Montreal will have to play one last game on the road before returning to its home at Stade Saputo on April 16 against the Vancouver Whitecaps. This other outing in hostile terrain will take place next Saturday, in Harrison, New Jersey, against the New York Red Bulls.
Fireworks
CF Montreal and FC Cincinnati started the weekend in the bottom of the Eastern Conference rankings, which did not prevent them from offering a high level offensive spectacle in the first half.
Two players, one from each side, held the lead roles. At CF Montreal, it was Mihailovic, who helped his team erase two one-goal deficits after hitting the target in the 17thand minute and at the 41and minute.
On the other, it was Vazquez, who scored the first goal of the match in the 12and minute of play and who orchestrated Johnston’s own goal in the 20and minute.
Wilfried Nancy’s men returned to the locker room with a 3-2 lead when Kamara scored his first goal in a Montreal uniform at the start of stoppage time.
The game was less heated at the start of the second half, but a fine burst from defender Alvas Powell on the right wing led to a penalty when Rudy Camacho tripped, perhaps unintentionally, the FC Cincinnati player at the 59and minute.
Two minutes later, Acosta successfully completed the penalty, slotting the ball to the left of Breza, who had dived to his right.
Less than 10 minutes later, Torres restored the lead to Montreal with his first goal of the season.
This time, CF Montreal held on.