One win away from lifting the Voyageurs Cup, CF Montreal doesn’t need any extra motivation. The last visit to Vancouver, however, is still fresh in his memory.
The Montrealers headed to British Columbia to play the Canadian Championship final against the Whitecaps on Wednesday night, and the stakes are high.
The Bleu-blanc-noir has the possibility of bringing home the 12e Voyageurs Cup in its history and could secure a place in the CONCACAF Champions League. At the same time, he also has the opportunity to avenge a bitter 5-0 loss suffered at the hands of the Whitecaps, on 1er april.
“The feeling of revenge can of course help us. We don’t want to go back there and repeat what happened. We also know it’s a final so we want to get there with a good frame of mind and to win the game,” said midfielder Mathieu Choinière.
In this game, things quickly turned sour for CF Montreal. Injured when he wanted to regain his support, in the fourth minute of play, Samuel Piette immediately left the game.
The Whitecaps then exploited the Montreal defense by attempting long balls. The strategy finally paid off when Rudy Camacho received a red card in the 23rde minute. The locks opened and the home side were leading 5-0 before the hour mark.
The Montrealers took a few games to recover from this loss, but they had a great winning streak to reach the Canadian Championship final and move up the MLS standings.
“It wasn’t bad until they started playing 11v10. Even with one player down it was even until about the 40e minute. You learn from every defeat, but in this game in particular, there were events that don’t happen often. You lose your captain in the fourth minute and then you get a red card in the 23rde “, observed head coach Hernan Losada, who expects a performance very different from his men, Wednesday.
CF Montreal will probably not be trapped for a second time in a row, but they will still have a lot to do to triumph.
The Whitecaps haven’t lost at BC Place since their season opener and have scored 20 of their 26 goals this season in front of home fans. Over the past week, Vanni Sartini’s squad crushed Houston Dynamo 6-2 and tied Sporting Kansas City 1-1.
On the other hand, the Bleu-blanc-noir has had difficulty finding solutions abroad this season. He has a 1-8-1 record and has been shut out seven times on opposing courts.
The Montreal club can at least rely on the fact that they defeated Toronto FC at BMO Field in the quarter-finals of the Canadian Championship.
“It’s never easy to play abroad, especially when you have to move west. We know the Whitecaps are very good at home, said goaltender Jonathan Sirois. I believe that we do not necessarily have to change our identity. We must avoid unprovoked errors and offer a mature performance defensively. »
“We have already shown that it is possible to win abroad. With good organization, good discipline and a good fighting spirit, anything is possible in this league. In a game where it’s all or nothing, it’s the defensive focus that’s going to be important,” added Losada.
No matter what happens in this final, Losada wants his players to come out of it stronger and to take full advantage of what they will experience. Because yes, this Canadian title is important for CF Montreal, but what will come out of it is just as important.
“I know what it means to participate in a final. I did it as a player and as a coach. Some people will never get a chance to play it so when you can, you have to play like you’ll never go back. It’s something special and we’ve worked very, very hard to have moments like Wednesday,” insisted the head coach.
All players and staff made the trip to Vancouver. Camacho, who suffered an abdominal injury against DC United, is expected to return to his position in central defense against the Whitecaps.