CF Montreal cut their teeth against a weaker club in the first round of the Canadian Championship, but they will face a completely different opponent in their return to MLS.
In search of victories and goals, the Bleu-blanc-noir played a convincing game on Tuesday against the Vaughan Azzurri. Their 2-0 win temporarily overshadowed their last Eastern Conference standings and 270-minute scoreless streak.
Now that they are back on the MLS schedule, the Montrealers will host Saturday night, at Stade Saputo, a team that is rarely outplayed: the New York Red Bulls.
CF Montreal (1-6-0) didn’t have many opportunities to celebrate in 2023. When it wasn’t the infirmary that was filling up from week to week, it was the embarrassing defeats that followed.
Against the Vaughan Azzurri, the Montreal troops were at least able to build up their confidence, after taking 25 shots on net, including 11 on target. She now hopes to be able to record a second good performance in a row and finally start her season.
“We would have to win on Saturday, but above all we would have to play well. This is what we need to be consistent. We will have to find all the ingredients on Saturday, because the victory is very important for our group and for the rest of the season. We are looking for solutions and I hope we will be even better against the Red Bulls,” said defender Rudy Camacho.
The Red Bulls (1-2-5) are having a more difficult season in 2023, but for several years they have used the same recipe and it has proven itself.
The New York team hasn’t missed the playoffs since 2009, its last 13 seasons, and has won three Supporters’ Shields and five Eastern Conference titles during that time.
In August 2022, the Red Bulls deprived CF Montreal of a record nine consecutive games without defeat by winning 1-0 at Stade Saputo. At the same time, it was their first victory in Quebec in 12 games (0-9-2), since May 2012.
Despite their less than stellar record this season, Gerhard Struber’s squad still only allowed seven goals in eight games.
“We know the quality of the Red Bulls and it will not be the same game as Tuesday. It’s a very solid team that doesn’t concede many goals, observed Bleu-blanc-noir head coach Hernan Losada. There won’t be many chances, but it’s up to us to be efficient in goal. It will be important to keep the zero and defend collectively. »
The Red Bulls apply high pressure on the field and they seek to cause turnovers within the opposition defence.
Since the start of the season, CF Montreal has often been at risk in this kind of situation. Also, the faster style of play advocated by Losada has not yet been fully assimilated by the players and the defense as much as the attack suffer from it after seven games.
“The Red Bulls have a very clear style of play which requires a lot of pressure and a lot of duels. They’re a threat to every team that tries to build attack from the back like we do. You can always create things from the outside and try to pass the first line of pressure. You just have to be smart to read your opponent’s cards,” Losada expressed.
And it’s not as if the Montreal attack has been going full steam ahead since the start of the season, when it occupies the penultimate rank in MLS. Fans should therefore expect a low score game. If goal there is.
CF Montreal became the first team in MLS history to be shut out in six of its first seven games of a season. He is still without the services of forwards Romell Quioto, Mason Toye, Jojea Kwizera and Jules-Anthony Vilsaint, but he can however count on defender George Campbell, who played fifteen minutes on Tuesday.