CF Montreal’s greatest story since the start of the season continued to be written with efforts, second efforts, praise and, now, goals and assists.
During the darkest moments in 2023, Mathieu Choinière wanted to be a beacon. That faint glow under the darkened skies. Now that the sky has cleared, he remains the anchor point.
After scoring the insurance goal the week before, the Quebecer rattled the ropes again and the Impact took the measure of Sporting de Kansas City 2-0, Saturday night, to sign a third consecutive victory, all competitions combined. .
Choinière started the first game of the campaign on the bench, a victim of his versatility and his status as an unestablished player. Then this same versatility served him, helping out all over the field because of the injuries of the executives. After the second game, he was started in all subsequent games.
Here he is now among the tenors of CF. A landmark when his partners failed to provide the necessary efforts, especially during duels in Vancouver and New England. Now playing in midfield alongside Victor Wanyama, he is thriving more than ever.
What’s more, he was decisive on almost all of the Bleu-blanc-noir’s goals this season in MLS. In addition to being the spark plug for the three CFM nets against the Philadelphia Union, he got the assist on the first goal of the game, that of Bryce Duke.
It’s no surprise that the native of Saint-Alexandre sits at the forefront of scorers and assists for the Montreal team. However, it is his self-sacrifice that has mainly caught the eye since the start of the campaign.
Even when called to the podium, Choinière continues to hand out flowers and attributes any personal success to his teammates.
I play great soccer. My teammates push me every day in training. […] I give my 100% during training and matches. I just try to help the team and I put the collective before me.
Mathieu Choiniere
Measured in his words, CFM head coach Hernán Losada also handed out honorable mentions to other players after the game, as he has done so often to the 24-year-old since the start of the match. season. “I’m happy with everyone’s performance, not just Mathieu’s,” he concluded.
The driver of the Montreal eleven underlined “the best performance since the start of the championship” from Wanyama and another “exceptional” evening from goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The keeper made a few key saves, including one from close range on Johnny Russell, during the game, thus signing his second shutout in a row.
” It’s good for morale ”
Without really knowing it, defender Joel Waterman had just launched a nice reference to La Compagnie créole after the meeting. He said the road win, which also netted the club the first away points for the club, “is good for morale”.
This simple victory acquired at the expense of Vaughan Azzurri in the Canadian Championship, a formality, gave a big boost to the morale of Montrealers, according to the central defender. Combined with the two victories in the Garber circuit, we feel that the players are full of confidence.
PHOTO NICK TRE. SMITH, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Chinonso Offar and Robert Voloder in action
“Last year, we were the best team in the league on the road,” recalled Waterman. In 2022, the club smashed the league record for the number of points amassed abroad. However in 2023, he needed to wait for the sixth game to score a first goal on opposing lawns.
It is now done, and the vast majority of zeros that remained on the CFM card have been erased thanks to this win at Children’s Mercy Park.
“I’m especially happy for the players,” Losada said after the game. We started the season badly, but now, come on! With a match like that, you gain confidence, and that’s important. »
The Impact will be able to continue its momentum in the coming days as its next two MLS games will be at Stade Saputo. Meanwhile, there will also be a stop in the Queen City to face Toronto FC in the Canadian Championship.