After savoring his first victory as head coach of CF Montreal, Hernan Losada was still struggling to explain what had just happened before his eyes.
“That’s football,” he said. That’s why fans come to the stadium and that’s why it’s the most popular sport in the world. »
And fans got their money’s worth when Romell Quioto hit the target in second-half stoppage time to give Montreal a dramatic 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night.
After easily getting rid of an opposing defender, the Honduran redirected a cross from Mathieu Choinière behind goalkeeper Joe Bendik to allow CF Montreal (1-3-0) to obtain a first victory this season, in their match home opening.
“Victory feels good, and so does the way. Tonight, we didn’t deserve to lose the three points. I’m relieved, but more for the players than for me. I always felt the support of everyone in the team. The players have worked very well and they have given their all since the start of the season,” expressed Losada.
All these celebrations wouldn’t have happened without Chinonso Offor’s first goal in a CF Montreal uniform in the 90e minute of play.
In a bizarre streak that only seems to happen in MLS, Offor had his goal disallowed after a video replay check, before finally being allowed after another check.
The referees clarified the situation after the game, confirming that it was Union defender Kai Wagner, placed in the right corner of the field, who put Offor on the line. This image had initially escaped the referee Nima Saghafi during the first revision.
“There was a player on the line on the right and the video assistance to the arbitration had not seen it, explained the defender Victor Wanyama. We also have access to technology so we had no choice but to complain. In the end, we’re happy the goal was allowed. »
When he appeared in front of the media, Union head coach Jim Curtin still didn’t know what happened on that goal. The thing he did know, however, was that he had never experienced such a situation in his career.
“I must say that I have never witnessed such a situation. It is not good for our league to see a goal disallowed following an audit and then allowed after another audit. I’m not even aware of the explanations,” he hinted.
It’s a red card awarded to Julian Carranza in the 69e minute, after a tough tackle against Joel Waterman, which opened the door for the Bleu-blanc-noir. Losada made four changes to create more chances in attack and the result turned out to be positive.
“We found solutions with the four changes at the end. It was all or nothing. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, Losada observed. Before the game you can do a lot of planning, but on the day of the game things can be different. In the end, we got the three points and made our fans happy. »
Quioto also ended CF Montreal’s long 273-minute scoreless drought when he took advantage of a penalty to open the scoring.
Mikael Uhre almost came to spoil the party with a brace, but the Union (2-2-0) suffered their first loss in seven games against the Montreal troupe since the start of the 2020 season.
The Montreal team will be able to rest during the international break before resuming action on Saturday, April 1, against the Whitecaps in Vancouver.
An incredible match
The energy of the 23,352 fans at the Olympic Stadium quickly gave CF Montreal wings, which scored their first goal of the season after just three minutes of play.
A shot from Choinière hit the left hand of defender Jakob Glesnes in the penalty area, which gave the Montrealers a penalty. Quioto, the team’s top scorer last year, did not miss the chance by slotting the ball into the top corner.
Carried away by this goal, the Bleu-blanc-noir was more insistent in the first quarter of an hour, without however adding to its lead. The best chance came from the foot of Mason Toye, who saw his volley just miss the target.
Quietly, the Union managed to establish its rhythm and had several scoring chances at the end of the first half, but Jonathan Sirois found a way to put his mark on the game.
The Quebec goalkeeper closed the door to Alejandro Bedoya, Jack Elliott and Uhre in the space of three minutes before the referee whistled the end of the half.
However, Sirois could not do anything when his team returned to the field to start the second half. Rather limp passes allowed the Union to recover the ball. Daniel Gazdag found Uhre at the entrance to the penalty area and the latter hit the target with a low shot.
The Gazdag-Uhre duo replayed the coup against the Montreal team during the 60e minute. Uhre pulled away from defenders Rudy Camacho and Waterman to seize a superb pass from Gazdag and scored his second goal of the game.
After Carranza was sent off for receiving a second yellow card, the Montrealers missed several chances in the penalty area before finally saving themselves with the victory.