Diego Rossi broke the deadlock in the second half and CF Montreal lost 3-1 to the Columbus Crew on Wednesday evening at Saputo Stadium.
Coming back from an emotional match against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF last Saturday, the Bleu-blanc-noir had some good moments against the Crew (4-2-6), but he was caught against -foot by the reigning MLS Cup champions.
For the occasion, head coach Laurent Courtois gave a start to certain players little used this season, namely defender Gabriele Corbo, midfielders Victor Wanyama and Rida Zouhir as well as attacker Sunusi Ibrahim. They held their ground for almost an hour of play, until Rossi scored in the 59the minute.
Mathieu Choinière, from the penalty spot, scored his first goal of the campaign, but CF Montreal (3-6-3) still suffered a third consecutive loss.
Maximilian Arfsten and Marino Hinestroza also scored for the Crew, who recorded their first away victory this season, in their fifth match.
CF Montreal will continue its streak of nine games in 29 days by traveling to the Queen City for a Canadian derby against Toronto FC on Saturday evening.
Crew style causes trouble
Patience was essential in the build-ups during the first minutes of the match and the Montrealers thought they had opened the scoring, in the 10th.e minute.
Ruan made a pass to Choinière in the penalty area and the Quebecer hit the target, but the official on the sidelines signaled offside.
The Bleu-blanc-noir remained in play and got a golden opportunity moments later. After accepting a long pass from Corbo, Ibrahim spotted Ariel Lassiter, late alone in the area. His left-footed deflection, however, narrowly missed the target.
The Crew are also capable of being patient with the ball and they found the back of the net on their first real scoring opportunity. Rossi and Christian Ramirez set the table for Alexandru Irinel Matan, who was stopped by Jonathan Sirois. Arfsten, however, pushed the return into an abandoned net.
The visitors did it again in the 25the minute, after maintaining possession of the ball for several seconds. Yaw Yeboah delivered a precise cross to the feet of Ramirez, who deceived Sirois’ vigilance with a solid strike. After checking on the screen, referee Mark Allatin announced to an anxious crowd that Ramirez was in an offside position.
CF Montreal slowly found its rhythm and buzzed in the final third. Ibrahim first armed a good right-footed shot which went a few feet past the crossbar. He then threw Joaquin Sosa on a breakaway, which forced goalkeeper Patrick Schulte to mow him down in the penalty area. Allatin did not hesitate to award a penalty.
Installed at the penalty spot, Choinière fired a perfect shot into the top corner to tie the game in stoppage time.
Wanting to give some regulars a few minutes ahead of Saturday’s match in Toronto, Courtois made three changes to the 58e minute. However, it was the Crew who benefited.
Still looking for his rhythm, Fernando Alvarez was caught on the counter-attack, leaving Joel Waterman alone in front of Ramirez and Rossi. It was the latter who completed the maneuver to give his team the lead.
The Montreal team was insistent in the last half hour of play, without succeeding in leveling the score. Corbo saw his shot hit the horizontal bar, in the 71ste minute, and Mason Toye was not able to beat Schulte, in the 74e.
Hinestroza sounded the death knell for CF Montreal in the 89the minute.