CF Montreal put on a convincing performance against Orlando City SC and posted a 4-1 win at Stade Saputo on Saturday to set a club record.
Wilfried Nancy’s men continued their rise in the Eastern Conference standings by overtaking Orlando City SC in third place.
The Montrealers have not lost in their last seven games (5-0-2), which is a first for them in MLS. The team has not lost since March 12, against New York City FC.
Despite the absence of midfielders Victor Wanyama and Ismaël Koné, suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards, CF Montreal controlled the ball well and gave themselves a number of scoring opportunities.
Joel Waterman, who scored his first career goal in MLS, as well as Djordje Mihailovic, Joaquin Torres and Zachary Brault-Guillard moved the ropes for CF Montreal (5-3-2).
CF Montreal had a small moment of hesitation midway through the second half and João Moutinho scored for Orlando City SC (5-4-2).
The Florida team came to Stade Saputo having not lost on the road in their last four games (2-0-2). Her last visit to Montreal dated back to November 7, 2021, when she ended the Bleu-blanc-noir’s hopes of making the playoffs by winning 2-0.
One of the only negative points of CF Montreal in this meeting turned out to be their indiscipline, especially after the whistle. Waterman, who will be suspended, Mihailovic and Romell Quioto all received yellow cards.
The Montrealers will resume action next Saturday, paying a visit to Charlotte FC.
Not bothered
After a rather methodical start to the match, CF Montreal went into second gear and gave their opponents a lot of trouble.
In quick succession, in the space of two minutes, Quioto and Lassi Lappalainen missed great opportunities to open the scoring. Quioto’s header went over the Orlando City SC net as Lappalainen ran into goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.
The home side stepped up the pressure and saw their efforts rewarded in the 21st minute. On a corner kick, Waterman inherited the ball at the mouth of the net and sent it past Gallese.
At first there were protests for offside, but the video replay confirmed that everything had taken place in the rules of the art.
In the 36th minute, Lappalainen had his second goal on the tip of the right foot, but his low shot went to the left of the post.
In the second half, CF Montreal picked up where they left off and their speed on the counterattack did more damage. Lappalainen turned into a passer this time and served a perfect cross to Mihailovic, who only had to redirect the ball into an empty net to make it 2-1.
CF Montreal was played a nasty trick in the 72nd minute, during a corner kick. Mouthino accepted the cross from Mauricio Pereyra and he deceived the vigilance of Sebastian Breza.
CF Montreal, however, struck with lightning speed, in the 81st and 84th minutes of play. Freshly arrived on the field, Brault-Guillard saw Torres in the box and the Argentinian hit the mark by turning around . Then Torres returned the favor to Brault-Guillard, who fired a missile into the side netting to Gallese’s right.