You can’t say you’re bored when CF Montreal plays against FC Cincinnati. This was once again the case yesterday in a 4 to 3 victory for the Bleu-blanc-noir which entertained the 14,225 spectators at Stade Saputo.
• Read also: Back to basics
• Read also: CF Montreal: pride regained
Montreal led 2-1 before returning to the locker room thanks to goals from Joel Waterman (21e) and Romell Quioto (45+4) after Junior Moreno opened the scoring in the 12e minute.
In the second half, the meeting took on the appearance of a confrontation between two heavyweight boxers. You know the kind of fight where the defense takes the edge and in which we hit the pear blow for blow.
Mathieu Choinière made it 3-1 in the first minute of the second half, but Cincinnati came back through Alvaro Barreal (51e).
Montreal regained a two-goal lead over Quioto’s second of the game (59e) who scored on a penalty shot awarded afterwards. A video review.
It was without counting on Moreno who scored his second of the match on a superb shot (63e).
Montreal snapped a two-game losing streak in MLS and moved up to 3e rank in the Eastern Association. The team will now be on hiatus until June 18 due to the international break.
Photo Martin Alarie
Joel Waterman opened the scoring for CF Montreal last night.
Hard on defense
The Montreal defenders had a very difficult evening by committing several errors, but especially by not managing to manage the opposing pressure.
Cincinnati had fun exploiting the spaces between the Montreal defenders, striking down the aisles, especially down the right, where Luciano Acosta used his speed to insert himself between Alistair Johnston and Joel Waterman.
We can at least say that by scoring in the first half, Waterman equaled an MLS team record with a seventh goal scored by a defender, a mark established in 2013 and 2021. It should fall this year.
And if we are absolutely looking for a little positive in the defensive game, Lassi Lappalainen had a better one than his teammates. He seems to be starting to feel comfortable in his position.
heavy loss
The match could have been expensive since the leader of the team, Djordje Mihailovic, left the meeting at the 17e minute after twisting his left ankle a few minutes earlier.
It’s bad luck for the American midfielder who has been called up by his national team for the matches of the international break which is starting.
Mihailovic was spotted on the team bench and wearing an ankle bandage.
Newsletter
Photo Martin Alarie
Joaquin Torres
8.5 / 10: Romell Quioto
- He worked hard, relentlessly, doing small effective things, but also scoring a double.
7.5 / 10: Joaquin Torres
- He threw several balls in the back of the opposing defense and participated in the goals of Waterman and Quioto. (picture above)
7.5 / 10: Kei Kamara
- He’s been on the pitch for less than 30 seconds and is already getting an assist.
7 / 10: Joel Waterman
- Defensively, it was sometimes complex with Acosta’s speed, but he scored the first goal for his team. Nice balance.
7 / 10: Lassi Lappalainen
- Things are starting to fall into place. He is more involved and he launches the action which leads to Choinière’s goal in the second half.
7 / 10: Mathieu Choiniere
- Not always easy in the first half, but he started the second with a goal in the first minute.
7 / 10: Victor Wanyama
- Quite energetic, he loses some battles in the face of pressure that sometimes suffocates the Montreal midfielder.
7 / 10: Samuel Piette
- Energetic and combative, he enters a situation where he must close the defensive breaches.
6.5 / 10: Kamal Miller
- Like the rest of the defense, it hasn’t always been easy under Cincinnati’s pressure, but he gets an assist on Waterman’s goal.
6.5 / 10: Ahmad Hamdi
- Combative, he attacks the opponent’s area and causes a penalty shot. But he also lost several duels.
6 / 10: Alistair Johnston
- A little less successful in this match, he struggled with Acosta’s speed.
6 / 10: Rudy Camacho
- No different from the others, he had his fair share of lost balls and bad plays.
5.5 / 10: Sebastian Breza
- The raises were very difficult for him in this meeting. He also makes certain decisions that are difficult to understand, such as boxing a ball that he can catch, for example.
“We forget the way” – Wilfried Nancy
The victory may not have been the prettiest of the season, but it comes at the right time to start the international break.
“I’m happy to have won because we’re coming out of a long cycle, first mentioned Wilfried Nancy. It was a game that was not great. The fact that we’re going on vacation, I’ll forget the way. »
Author of the first of his team, Joel Waterman underlined the importance of this gain after two consecutive defeats in MLS. It was important not to miss any other points.
“After a nine-game unbeaten streak, we didn’t want to slide in the other direction. After two defeats, we took it to heart and we wanted to have the three points before the break. »
difficult opponent
FC Cincinnati is now an inconvenient opponent with an assumed style of play that causes all sorts of problems.
“I don’t know why we always have high scores against this team,” said Joel Waterman. As a defender, I like to defend much better than that. At least we scored more goals than them and that’s all that matters. »
However, he attributes the team’s defensive struggles to Cincy’s playstyle.
“They are combative, they play a bit the same way as us. Their centre-backs are taking risks and leaving space behind. They also like to give long balloons to [Brandon] Basin and [Luciano] Acosta. We struggled, but we made it. »
Lots of goals
At the end of yesterday evening, CF Montreal is in first place in the Eastern Association for goals scored with 28. However, it is second to last for goals against with 26.
“I don’t know if we’re going to do like New England, it was their case last year”, launched Wilfried Nancy who does not hesitate to throw a touch of humor.
“The goals we concede, we have to do better. Are the goals we conceded individual or collective errors? We have to look into that. »
He can at least be satisfied with the fact that the offense is very varied this season with twelve different markers so far.
“I’m proud of that because it’s part of our game model. We all attack and we all defend. »
Special
Joel Waterman will undoubtedly have an indelible memory of this meeting because he had the opportunity to score his second goal this year and he did it in front of his parents who were visiting from Vancouver.
“It’s unbelievable, it’s a very special moment for me and for them. They made a lot of sacrifices for me to be here, I feel blessed to have scored in front of them. My father was quite emotional. »
Waterman can say mission accomplished, especially since he played all three games last week.
“I’m happy that they let me play this game and that I was rewarded for it. »