CF Montreal 2 – FC Cincinnati 1 | CF Montreal impresses and wins

If this is CF Montreal under Laurent Courtois, the summer is going to be hot at the Saputo stadium… and not just because of the temperature.

The Bleu-blanc-noir won 2-1 over FC Cincinnati after a spectacular performance on Saturday evening in front of a packed house at Saputo stadium. And it wasn’t the mercury just above 0 Celsius that warmed up the crowd.

No, it was rather the prowess of Josef Martínez, Ariel Lassiter – both scorers – and the rest of the Montreal eleven, in favor of an efficient and rapid passing game, which took care of it.

Enterprising

CF Montreal was alone on the field in the first half. From the first whistle, we understood that he was going to be much more enterprising than in the last matches abroad.

In fact, Laurent Courtois’ men dominated so much that Cincinnati seemed not to touch the ball. Ariel Lassiter, used on the wing in a much more offensive assignment, with Raheem Edwards to provide his back on the left, was particularly successful. Right back Ruan spared no effort on the other lane. The Brazilian was amazing, even if his crosses were still sorely lacking in precision.

All these players were brilliantly served by Bryce Duke in full control in his role as number 10. This match, and this style of play focused on possession of the ball, smiled on him. Finally, some will say, including the author of these lines.

This sustained presence in the attacking third caused solid duels, sometimes too many. Matías Cóccaro had to come out with an injury in the 26th^e ; he tried to play despite the pain, but he finally gave way to Josef Martínez.

However, it was the Venezuelan’s foot that served Montreal best in this first half. Almost invisible since his entry, the artilleryman only needed one clear opportunity to give his team the lead. In stoppage time, on a pass from Edwards in the area, his right-footed shot brought the Saputo Stadium crowd to its feet in excitement.

The second half started at the same pace. But against the run of play, Cincinnati found the fault. On a quick sequence of passes at 58^eYuya Kubo managed to thwart Jonathan Sirois who had been little used until then.

But quickly, Martínez once again smelled a good deal. At 62^e, he handed the leather to a Lassiter about to take flight in the axis. The one who developed as an attacker before being transferred to the full-back position in Montreal demonstrated his know-how by threading the needle to give his team the lead again.

FC Cincinnati is still one of the powers of the league, and showed a more interesting face at the end of the match. The Montreal defense was busy, but did not falter.

Montreal thus finds its way to victory, after three consecutive defeats.

More details will follow.

RISING

Bryce Duke

A scapegoat for fans since mid-2023, Bryce Duke showed all his promise on Saturday night, and he deserves to be mentioned here again. His association with Josef Martínez, in particular, created very nice sparks. So much so that we have the impression of having found a winning combination in the attacking third with this trio completed by Lassiter.

FALLING

Raheem Edwards

Edwards provided the assist for the first goal of the match, crucial to leaving at halftime with a logical lead. But he is starting to get into the bad habit of collecting yellow cards. Remember that it was his expulsion after two yellows in Chicago which led to the stampede at the end of the match. This time, Courtois played cautiously by replacing him with Victor Wanyama in the 63rd^e. It could even have been after halftime.