After an “unamusing” three-game streak, where CF Montreal was supplanted 10-0 on aggregate, the club did an autopsy of its performance. Coroner Aaron Herrera has finally delivered his report.
The verdict was not very surprising.
“Our conclusion was unanimous: we had to increase the intensity. In this sport, you make your own luck by giving more and fighting more,” assured Herrera after the training session Tuesday morning at Center Nutrilait.
Here, the finger has been put on the bobo. At least, one of the sores. Through hard work, CFM was able to preserve two consecutive shutouts. First against Vaughan Azzurri in the Canadian Championship – a formality, of course – then against the New York Red Bulls, last Saturday.
This esprit de corps was visible against the New Jersey club. In particular by the actions of Mathieu Choinière, who went from a spectacular retreat which he concluded with a perfect sliding tackle to regain the ball in the second half. A few minutes later, he “drained all the gas” he had left, in his words, to get a rebound and confirm his team’s 2-0 victory.
And these two sequences are all in contrast to the last few weeks.
We force ourselves to run more than we used to. To do more sprints. More runs in the back of the defense. More intensity everywhere. More intensity in duels and more intensity in withdrawals. It’s very demanding. I have cramps around 80e minute and it’s not because of the physical form, it’s just because we leave everything on the pitch.
Aaron Herrera, CF Montreal defender
The shirt got wet
During the first game at Stade Saputo of the season, the group of supporters Collectif Impact Montréal held up a tifo asking that more jerseys be wet. After said encounter against DC United, Impact head coach Hernán Losada noted that few players had provided the minimum he believed. What it requires is “effort” and “sacrifice”.
Without being questioned on the subject, Herrera returned to the relevance of providing a constant and honest effort.
“It’s the minimum, insisted the right side. Intensity and effort must be present. I believe you saw it in the last game, everyone was ready to fight. From the 1D at the 90e minute. »
This mission applies to everyone. Former Bleu-blanc-noir star forward and assistant coach Eduardo Sebrango says he worked with the forwards to get them more involved and invested in the game.
“We don’t want to be static, we want to be mobile. We worked on that last week,” he said.
Plant the first milestones
For the first time with Herrera on the lawn, the CFM managed to shake the net. The American’s low cross was deflected by a New Yorkers defender before allowing the Saputo stadium bell to ring.
The start of the season was disastrous on the attacking level for the club, with only goals in one of the first seven games of the season. That blackout we talked about ad nauseam weighed heavily on player morale, according to Herrera.
Victories are everything in this business. So it’s quite a tough time. I don’t think anyone on this team has ever had a streak like this where you don’t score at all. So it wasn’t easy for anyone, and I had to make an effort to stay positive.
Aaron Herrera, CF Montreal defender
But slowly, the automatisms settled in and the arrival of Bryce Duke, who mainly operated near the corridor of Herrera, helped him find his touch.
“Bryce is one of my good friends, so that helps on the pitch. When you can pair a very technical guy with an athletic guy, it gets results,” he noted.
Both Real Salt Lake academy alumni were important to the attacking success against the Red Bulls. They will try to make the pair again against Sporting Kansas City, the league’s worst team, on Saturday night.