“The first three quarters of the game were good. The last portion of the match was not good at all. The coach had a message to convey and everyone agrees with that, ”launched CF Montreal assistant coach Laurent Ciman, in an incisive tone.
And yet. The CFM crushed the stars of the Première Ligue de soccer du Québec (PLSQ) – the best soccer league in Quebec – 6-1 on Friday evening, and offered a flawless performance during the first half.
It was during the second part of the match, where an eleven mainly composed of reservists and players from the Academy walked the lawn of the Olympic Stadium, that certain aspects of the game did not please the former central defender .
“There are things you can’t do: start to dribble in your penalty area or concede a goal… We said to ourselves that we didn’t want to concede a goal and that we wanted to take it seriously. start to finish. I wouldn’t say the 25, but the last 15 minutes there was too much quibbling. Central defenders must not dribble, they must play simple, ”he said.
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Striker Romell Quioto (centre) puts pressure on the opposing goalkeeper.
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The PLSQ players took this game seriously, much to the chagrin of striker Kei Kamara (left).
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Defender Kamal Miller (right) gave the PLSQ players a hard time.
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Goalkeeper James Pantemis had to concede a goal in the second half.
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Samuel Piette during the CF Montreal game against the stars of the PLSQ, Friday
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That said, overall, it was a success for Montrealers. Nathan Saliba continued to build on his strong showing in training camp with a goal, Sunusi Ibrahim netted a spectacular brace and the club’s new right-back Aaron Herera provided two assists.
It’s a great victory and a great result. The primary goal was to pick up the pace during a game that was close to reality, against a team that we don’t know, and to stay healthy. So it was positive today.
Samuel Piette
For his part, Ciman gave more importance to the intangibles: “We want to be dangerous, we want to score goals, we want to offer good football and we want to play forward when we recover the ball. That was the case tonight. There were lots of good things. »
Let’s talk about beautiful things. Ibrahim scored his first goal with a stunning bicycle kick, last campaign’s big guns in Romell Quioto and Kei Kamara rattled the strings and the team looked confident when in possession of the ball for the most part dueling. Even Canadian defender Kamal Miller hit the mark. In short, everyone has found their account.
It was the first match of this type, where the PLSQ sent its best players to cross swords with the CFM. And it was during this match played in front of the staff of the PLSQ and Soccer Quebec clubs as well as the media that the Montreal squad ended the first part of its training camp.
Hernán Losada’s men will head to Florida on Sunday and will stay there for the last three weeks of camp. By the way, they will play four preparatory games before starting the regular season on Saturday, February 25 against Inter Miami.
A meritocracy that smiles on Saliba
The stars are finally aligning for Nathan Saliba and he believes he can do well this season.
“It was complicated before with the trips, because Nathan was not vaccinated. But now that everything is back to normal, he will be able to exploit his full potential, ”explained Ciman about the young Quebecer.
Even though he was only on the pitch for 25 minutes, and away from his natural midfield position, Saliba commanded attention.
Playing as a winger and particularly high up the pitch, he wasted no time before redirecting a cross from Herera into the back of the net.
“It’s up to everyone to make their mark this year. Elders will not be privileged. Every player has a chance to take and I think I’m off to a good start this year,” said a Saliba who was obviously pleased with his performance.
He admits he has never played as a winger, but “if the coach wants it”, Saliba will do anything to become CFM’s next rising star.