CF Montreal erased two one-goal deficits and earned a 2-2 draw with the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday night at Red Bull Arena.
The Bleu-blanc-noir were out of the running for the first 45 minutes, but took advantage of a long rain break to find their rhythm again.
Josef Martinez scored both goals for CF Montreal (6-9-9), which has not lost in its last three games. It also took the ninth and final place in the Eastern Conference, giving access to the playoffs.
Wikelman Carmona scored for the Red Bulls (9-4-11), who also benefited from an own goal by Mathieu Choiniere. The New York team remained the only MLS team yet to suffer a home defeat this season (6-0-5).
Freshly back from participating in the Copa America, Choinière, Samuel Piette and Joel Waterman were used as starters by head coach Laurent Courtois.
By virtue of his departure, Piette joined Evan Bush as the club’s all-time leading player with 176 MLS games played.
CF Montreal will return to action on Saturday night when they host Toronto FC at Stade Saputo. It will be the final match for both teams before the start of the Leagues Cup.
In two times
The first half of the Bleu-blanc-noir did not announce the turnaround that the supporters would see during the second.
The lack of cohesion and synchronization gave the Red Bulls several great scoring opportunities in the first 10 minutes, but Dante Vanzeir and Cameron Harper sent the ball over the net.
The visitors paid for their turnovers in the 18th minute, allowing the home team to open the scoring. A loss of the ball by Ariel Lassiter started Dylan Nealis’ counterattack. The latter passed the ball to Carmona, who beat Jonathan Sirois with a long, low, very accurate shot.
The Red Bulls could have gone into the locker room with a two- or three-goal lead, but instead they squandered two golden opportunities. On a corner kick, Carmona first hit the post to Sirois’ right. Then, after Lewis Morgan lobbed the ball into the penalty area, Vanzeir missed a nearly open net in front of him.
The New Yorkers’ momentum was slowed by rain, which forced the game to be interrupted just before the start of the second half. The break of nearly an hour and 45 minutes seemed to allow CF Montreal to recover.
Courtois made four changes and they paid off. A fine effort from Choiniere in front of the penalty area resulted in a very dangerous free-kick in the 67th minute. Martinez tried his luck and the ball was accidentally redirected by Carmona into his own net.
Bad luck also hurt the Montreal team in the 75th minute. During a corner kick, all the players missed the ball, which finally hit Choinière before crossing the goal line.
Against one of the best home teams in MLS, the final result seemed settled, but CF Montreal refused to give up. Jules-Anthony Vilsaint broke away from Sean Nealis, who had to hold him in the penalty area.
Nealis was shown a yellow card, which was eventually changed to a red, and he gave Montreal a penalty. Martinez convincingly tied the game with a powerful shot from the right side.
At the end of the match, Ruan thought he had given the victory to the Bleu-blanc-noir, but he was declared offside by the referee on the sidelines. At the other end of the field, Morgan beat Sirois, but not the post to his left.