CF Montreal, in its “warrior outfit”, wins in Dallas

CF Montreal confirmed on Saturday evening its good performance at the start of the season. He came out of a clash against FC Dallas with three points, in Texas… But this 2-1 victory was costly.

Jules-Anthony Vilsaint scored, Josef Martínez too. These two players, however, returned early to respectively replace Kwadwo Opoku, who left injured in the 11th^e minute, and Matías Cóccaro, who did the same at the end of the first half.

“The guys stayed the course,” noted head coach Laurent Courtois after the match. This is what I hope we will succeed in doing in difficult times. Despite the difficulty, despite the score, despite the events, despite the referee or whatever. They showed character. »

The CFM will be able to thank its reserve attackers, yes, but also its goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois, author of several fine saves, including this saving parade in the 85^e minute on the goal line.

Saving replacements

Once again, Montreal was enterprising for this road game. In the first half, the visitors clearly had the advantage on the run of play.

But the exit of Kwadwo Opoku, lively until then, quickly dealt a hard blow to Courtois’ men.

The problem, on the other hand, has become a welcome solution. At the 20^e minute, his replacement Jules-Anthony Vilsaint sent Ruan deep on the right. The vibrant Brazilian then delivered a first-intention cross which fell to the foot of Matías Cóccaro in front of the area. The Uruguayan had the presence of mind to pass to Vilsaint on his right… who sent the ball with a good low shot to the back of the net. The young Quebecer thus scored the very first goal of the season for CF Montreal.

“I’m still a little speechless [pour décrire ce] match,” a shy but smiling Vilsaint began by saying. Misfortune fell on Opoku, but brought happiness to the Quebec striker. He still had to seize this opportunity.

“Yes, I feel like I took my chance,” says the striker. I’ve always been an opportunity guy, knowing the moment was going to come. It’s about being focused at the right time. »

Courtois said he was “very touched” by Opoku’s injury.

“He came back well,” he lamented. He had access to his first tenure, he was unlucky. I hope it won’t be too serious. »

But the technician is delighted to have seen Vilsaint come out of his shell.

“He showed the range of what he is capable of bringing,” illustrates Courtois. It was quite complete and interesting. But we see that at the level fitness, we are still in difficulty. » Vilsaint came out at 77^e for the benefit of Sunusi Ibrahim.

Dallas retained most of the possession in the first half, but did little with it. Meanwhile, Cóccaro continued to establish himself as the CFM’s offensive spark plug.

Unfortunately, he too fell in action before half-time. Even before the trainers came to join him on the ground, he indicated that he needed a change. This is not a good sign for the future.

“Mati took a tampon that really immobilized him, and he couldn’t move,” Courtois explained. We hope it won’t be too serious either. »

After the loss of Opoku at the start of the match, that of Cóccaro forced Courtois to draw on the depth of his attack. Josef Martínez came into play for the rest of things. Just after, Dallas finally found a breakthrough, courtesy of its new recruit Petar Musa, who arrived from Benfica in Portugal. The Croatian equalized the score with a shot into the box in stoppage time in the first period.

Martínez’s flair

THE Toros started the second half well. But with Gazelle Ruan on the right, Montreal was often dangerous on the counterattack. As for Martínez’s goal, his first with the Bleu-blanc-noir, which gave his team the lead for good.

Duke, in front of his own surface, skillfully found Ruan to initiate one of these lively transitions at the 60^e. THE jogador was percussive by bringing the leather to the center, in the axis, while Martínez came in front of him. With his scoring flair, the Venezuelan found a way to deceive goalkeeper Maarten Paes to make it 2-1.

Martínez missed a golden opportunity last week in Orlando. This time he didn’t want to have regrets.

“My missed shot in Orlando really frustrated me,” he says candidly. I was angry with myself, because it was a fair opportunity. When you are a striker, you have to score. Today we had a few chances, and that’s soccer. When you score, you’re a good player, and when you miss, you’re not. »

All week, and again on Saturday evening, Laurent Courtois repeated that the challenge for his group was to “repeat the positive points” demonstrated in Orlando. In addition to the three points, he will leave Texas satisfied in this regard.

“I liked that the guys kept their cool,” he said. They are aware of what they can be confident and secure in. They put on their warrior clothing, but while remaining calm and lucid. There are enormous reasons for satisfaction. »

Rising

Jonathan Sirois

Saturday, there is no victory, or perhaps even a draw, without the impeccable performance of Jonathan Sirois in front of his net. If Dallas was very weak in the first half, in the second half their attacks came in waves. The Montreal defense was solid, but Sirois’ 7 saves were crucial in the victory. The Quebec jailer exudes solemn confidence on the ramparts. His year of confirmation is off to a very good start.

Falling

Ariel Lassiter

Ariel Lassiter’s name is listed here almost just to fill out the section here. In such a victory abroad, few players deserve real criticism. Lassiter, however, missed a golden chance at the very start of the match, after a very good construction of play between Choinière and Cóccaro. Alone in front of an open net, Lassiter was unable to make it happen. Montreal found other sources of attack as the match progressed, but it will be necessary to put the compass back in the eye of some of its offensive players.