Beaten 3-0 on Wednesday by FC Cincinnati, CF Montreal must quickly turn the page, because it will visit the New York Red Bulls on Saturday.
If the head coach Hernan Losada had been very critical of this meeting in the evening Wednesday, he looked at this setback of his with a different eye at sunrise, Thursday.
“The match was not so bad: I saw it again this morning and I had a new perspective. Some passages were good. We will continue to work. There were positives.
“Every game, we have to learn lessons,” continued Losada. Wednesday, we lacked concentration. It’s a shame that he started the way he started (with a second-minute Joel Waterman counterattack). We must learn to finalize our actions, especially in the last 16 meters. That’s what’s a bit lacking. It’s bad to have scored away only in cup matches. It means that if we don’t keep a solid defensive block, if we don’t keep our concentration, we won’t score three or four goals per game. »
Asked to clarify his thinking, Losada underlined the positive elements he identified in this game which pushed the Impact (5-7-0, 15 points) down to 12th place in the East.
“Some of our builds were very good: we found space against the best defense in the league, the exchanges between Bryce Duke, Mathieu Choinière and Sean Rea were very good. But after breaking the first line of pressure, there was no sequel.
“The points to work on remain the same. We have to be much more efficient in front and finalize the actions, take fewer risks in the construction, especially in the axis. I want my wingers to be more active with the ball. I don’t think we offered quality play along the lines. »
The coach also recalled the absence of Romell Quioto and spoke of the energy level of Chinonso Offor, who has just played several games in a short time.
Will he have time to turn the tide with only two days of preparation?
“Yes, we can make changes in two days, because it’s a completely different game. Against the Red Bulls, it’s always difficult, filled with duels. In the field, in two days we put all the emphasis on recovery. But it gives enough time to make video and discuss our adjustments. »
Moreover, for midfielder Mathieu Choinière, this confrontation against the Red Bulls (2-4-7, 13 points, 14th in the East) is a blessing.
“We have to learn from this game (against Cincinnati) and we are lucky: we have a game coming up very soon,” he said. We have to stay united, fight every game. We also conceded three goals: we don’t want to do that again. We need to defend better. »
The Red Bulls and CF Montreal will meet for the second time in a month. The first duel ended in a 2-0 victory for the Montreal team at Saputo Stadium. But the Red Bulls have since fired head coach Gerhard Struber to replace him with Troy Lesesne. Does Losada expect a different performance from New Yorkers?
“Not really: the Red Bulls have a style and the new coach plays the same way. I expect a very close game, like all games against them. »
But Choinière is a little wary of the “energy of despair” that some opponents could display in this duel.
“They are somewhat in the same position as us in the standings and with the new coach, everyone wants to prove that he has his place. On our side, we have to prove that we can win away from home. »
CF Montreal has only one victory on home turf this season: a 2-0 win in Kansas City on April 29. He is 1-6-0 away from home and has scored just two goals to his opponents’ 17.
Saturday’s game will be played at Red Bull Arena and kicks off at 7:30 p.m.