CF Montreal was once again dominated abroad and was blanked 3-0 by Orlando City SC on Saturday evening at Exploria Stadium.
During the most important weeks of its season, the Bleu-blanc-noir has just concluded a sixth game in a row without a victory (0-4-2) and has the second worst record abroad in MLS (2- 12-2).
We knew things would be difficult for him when Jonathan Sirois scored against his side, in the 19the minute. The Montreal team has the worst record in the league when allowing the first goal (0-16-1) and they have not been able to recover.
Orlando City SC (15-7-9) confirmed this statistic by adding two goals in the second half, those of Dagur Thorhallsson and Facundo Torres.
Installed in second place in the Eastern Association, Oscar Pareja’s squad has not experienced defeat in front of its supporters in MLS since April 22 (8-0-5). She also set a team record with a total of 54 points in a single season.
CF Montreal (11-16-4) hung on to the eighth tier in the East for a few weeks despite its series of failures. When his match ended in Orlando, he had temporarily slipped to ninth place, the last place giving access to the playoffs.
Forward Romell Quioto made his first start for the Montreal team since May 13. The Honduran showed some signs of impatience at times, while his teammates took time before joining him. He was finally replaced at the start of the second half.
In the absence of Joel Waterman, suspended due to a red card, defender Fernando Alvarez made his first career MLS start. Sick, striker Jules-Anthony Vilsaint and midfielder Lassi Lappalainen did not accompany the Bleu-blanc-noir to Florida.
CF Montreal will begin a decisive week at home by hosting the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday evening. He will do so without the services of defender Gabriele Corbo, who will be suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
Nothing to do abroad
The Montrealers did not have a spectacular start to the match, but the defensive block was much less abused than against Atlanta United last week.
Orlando City SC made a few breakthroughs into enemy territory, but it was often without danger. Except for this moment of hesitation in the 19th minute.
While Zachary Brault-Guillard applied light pressure forward, Rafael Santos accepted a pass behind the CF Montreal defense to move in alone on the left flank. The Brazilian brought the ball back in front and Torres fired a first-time shot which hit the post to Sirois’ right before ricocheting off the keeper and into the net.
Subsequently, the same symptoms abroad resurfaced for Hernan Losada’s men. Creativity was lacking, synchronism was deficient and the attacks were slowed down before they even started.
The Lions, for their part, began to be more incisive and they buzzed very close to Sirois’ cage. The Quebecer notably had to bring out his right hand to block a deflection from Ivan Angulo, in the 37the minute. Angulo moved the strings moments later, but the referee on the sidelines called a blatant offside by Torres on the left.
From the first minutes of the second half, Thorhallson was involved in the action and the Icelander found the back of the net, in the 50the minute. Duncan McGuire made a cross which passed between several players before reaching the left foot of his defender.
The home side put the final nail in the coffin just four minutes later. A long attack launched by goalkeeper Pedro Gallese led to a surplus in Montreal territory. Angulo passed the ball past defender George Campbell, who left Torres alone on the other side, and the Uruguayan threaded the needle.
Despite a few attacks from the Bleu-blanc-noir, including a save from Gallese at the goal line, Orlando City SC was able to put the finishing touches to its shutout.