CHARLOTTE | With an active streak of eight games unbeaten, we have to face the facts and stop doubting, we have to take CF Montreal seriously.
• Read also: CF Montreal: Sweet Caroline!
• Read also: MLS: no master between the Revolution and Atlanta United FC
The performance delivered in this 2-0 victory against CF Charlotte, a team which had only one defeat in five home games beforehand, has everything to convince, especially as the team set another historic mark with five games in a row without defeat on opposing lawns.
This team played in control and were clearly the better of the two on the field despite a tough and organized opposition that had never allowed more than one goal in a game at Bank of America Stadium.
“I’m happy to have scored more than one goal [ici] and to have won at zero because it is a very good team”, mentioned Wilfried Nancy after the meeting.
demanding
CF Montreal went to bed on Saturday night occupying first place in the MLS Eastern Conference, a place that is rightfully theirs.
And what is encouraging is that the team shows no signs of complacency. On the contrary, players are very demanding of themselves.
“It feels good to win games, but as defenders we couldn’t be fully satisfied because we were giving away goals,” said Rudy Camacho after the match.
He was reminded that the team hadn’t allowed more than one goal in their last six outings, which didn’t change his mind.
“We are already at 19 goals conceded, that’s a lot. »
Cohesion
The fact remains that the defensive cohesion has been evident since the last meetings. On Saturday there was a very serious alert and a few other minor ones, but the team was never in a bad position.
How do we explain this turnaround in the last six games?
“I struggled at first, I was not on my legs,” Camacho admitted. Alistair [Johnston] arrived in a new system that he had to get used to. We had to find the automatisms. »
And Wilfried Nancy also recognized the brilliance of Johnston who opened his counter on Saturday, becoming the fifth defender to score a goal this season.
“I wanted to impose something on Alistair and he is very open-minded, and he was able to do it,” he said of the Canadian full-back who became a full-back, a position that he really appropriated.
Breza reassures
Early in the unbeaten streak, goalkeeper Sebastian Breza sent worrying signs with several errors, some of which cost goals.
But for a few games, and especially on Saturday evening, he has been reassuring. Against Charlotte, he showed authority in his area.
“He had a complicated moment as we can all have, but the important thing is to remain sure of yourself, insisted Camacho. He has quite a strong character so he remained confident. »
“You have to stay solid in your head and not listen to what is being said on the side because people talk a lot. »
Spin
There is a tendency to think that the team struggled at the start of the season due to the games being repeated quickly.
We can verify this theory since CF Montreal has four games to play over the next two weeks.
“When we play every three days, the first thing to look at is physical form. You have to avoid wasting energy off the pitch and make sure you recover well,” says Djordje Mihailovic.
“With our depth, there will be rotations and we must not lose our bite and our good energy. »
It will also be verified in attack since Romell Quioto injured his shoulder and had his right arm slung over his shoulder in the second half.
Mason Toye isn’t expected to return until mid-June, but the way Kei Kamara is playing there’s plenty to be confident about. He doesn’t look 37 and he works as hard on offense as he does on defense.