Just over a week away from their first outing at Stade Saputo, CF Montreal still has a game to play on hostile ground. And when it comes to hostile terrain, none is more so than the New York Red Bulls’ stronghold where the Montreal players will stop on Saturday afternoon.
Posted at 8:23 p.m.
Since the arrival of the Impact/CF Montreal in MLS in 2012, the Red Bulls have won 11 of their 12 home games against the Montreal club. In the history of the league, no team has a better success rate (91.7%) against the same team on its field, with a minimum of eight games.
Strangely, the Red Bulls have yet to win at home in 2022 (0-1-1) while they have a perfect 3-0-0 away record.
But in the mind of head coach Wilfried Nancy, the Red Bulls play essentially the same at home or in enemy territory.
For the Red Bulls, evolving at home or away, it does not change much because it is not a team of possession (ball). This is a team that counterattacks. It’s a team that puts a lot of intensity on the second ball.
Wilfried Nancy
“It doesn’t matter where they play, they have a style and they stick to that style. »
To hope to sign a second victory on the ground of the Red Bulls, on Saturday, CF Montreal will have to do better defensively than it has done so far.
In five outings in 2022, CF Montreal (1-3-1) has already conceded 14 goals. In all of MLS history, only two teams have allowed more goals than Montreal after five games.
“It’s hard to find the reason. I feel like we are doing the right things in training and in the preparation leading up to the games,” defender Kamal Miller said of CF Montreal’s defensive issues.
“We’re trying to get back to what made us successful last year, to rebuild the chemistry. We hope that over the next few weeks we will be able to perform better defensively,” added the Canadian defender.
While the defensive brigade is still looking for itself, the Montreal offense has been particularly productive in its last two games, with a harvest of seven goals.
However, Wilfried Nancy can count on the return of Romell Quioto, who had been forced into inactivity last week in Cincinnati since he was in the COVID-19 protocol.
It also remains to be seen whether Sunusi Ibrahim will be able to play a first match with the Montreal team in 2022 after contracting malaria at the start of the year. Last week in Cincinnati, Ibrahim was in uniform, but did not participate in the meeting.