CF Montreal ended its long game streak on a high note by easily shutting out Minnesota United 4-0 on Saturday night at Stade Saputo.
Coming back from a heartbreaking defeat in the final of the Canadian Championship on Wednesday night, the Bleu-blanc-noir had enough energy to kick off the last game of a series of 11 in 36 days.
The Montrealers hit the mark in the seventh and 13th minutes to cruise to a sixth win in seven home games this season. They added two second-half goals for their most productive night of 2023.
Mason Toye, on two occasions, Zachary Brault-Guillard and Rudy Camacho threaded the needle for CF Montreal (7-9-1), which temporarily returned to the ninth and last place giving access to the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
The Montreal team had still not won in three games against Minnesota United, having suffered two 3-2 losses at Saputo Stadium.
CF Montreal took advantage of this great victory to become the fifth team in MLS history to record five shutouts in a row at home in a single season. The Columbus Crew was the last team to achieve the feat, in 2020.
Minnesota United (5-7-5) has not won in its last four outings (0-2-2).
Hernan Losada’s men will enjoy a well-deserved week off due to the international break and will play their next game on Wednesday June 21 against Nashville SC.
The machine is open
The fatigue of the last few weeks has certainly not been felt for CF Montreal during the first touches of the ball.
In the seventh minute, Toye redirected the ball quickly towards Mathieu Choinière, who won his battle at the expense of a rival. Toye grabbed the loose ball and got away before beating goaltender Dayne St. Clair with a well-executed lob.
The show continued only six minutes later. Gabriele Corbo made a spectacular opening from one side to the other of the field and he found the foot of Brault-Guillard. The latter approached the penalty area and he fired a ball into the skylight to double the lead of his team.
The visitors had a chance to pull one back in the 24th minute but Mender Garcia split the air in the penalty area after a fine pass from Bongokuhle Hlongwane.
Early in the second half, Minnesota United buzzed a few times. This time it was Hlongwane who sliced through the air, as Emanuel Reynoso missed the target by turning around.
Those occasions came to haunt the visitors seconds later. Following a fine pass from Bryce Duke and a cross from Sunusi Ibrahim, Ariel Lassiter was robbed by St. Clair near the goal line, but Toye jumped on the return to score his second goal of the game in the 57th minute.
On a 76th-minute corner kick, Camacho deftly headed in Duke’s cross to score his first goal of the campaign.
Late in the game, Minnesota United fired several dangerous shots in the hope of depriving Jonathan Sirois of a shutout, but each time the goalkeeper intervened or the ball missed the target in an almost miraculous way.