Alonso Martinez hurt CF Montreal, who were shut out 2-0 by New York City FC on Wednesday night at Citi Field.
Martinez scored a goal in each of the two halves and each time, it was a pass from his teammate Hannes Wolf that helped him cut through the Bleu-blanc-noir defense.
CF Montreal (5-9-7) had some good moments between Martinez’s two goals, but it has not won away from home for a ninth straight game.
In addition, Montreal was once again unable to beat their nemesis. They have lost their last six duels against New York City FC (11-8-2), including one in the 2022 playoffs, and they have not won at home since March 1er August 2015.
Nick Cushing’s players won their second consecutive game after suffering three straight losses in June.
Forward Matias Coccaro played the entire second half on Wednesday after being left in the stands last weekend against the Philadelphia Union. The Uruguayan had lost his temper during a team practice a week ago.
CF Montreal will return to action on Saturday night, hosting the Vancouver Whitecaps at Stade Saputo.
Badly launched
The Bleu-blanc-noir seemed at ease on the very particular ground of Citi Field during the first minutes of the match, but an error cost him dearly.
In his defensive third, George Campbell played a pass behind Nathan Saliba to give the home side possession. In an instant, Wolf slid the ball to Martinez, who slotted it into the top corner in the ninth minute. The goal was initially ruled out for offside, but referee Marcos de Oliveira looked at the footage on screen and ruled that the Costa Rican was clearly onside.
CF Montreal nevertheless maintained the pace to try to orchestrate the response. At the 19e minute, Sunusi Ibrahim released Kwadwo Opoku into the penalty area, but the latter hesitated before finally being frustrated by goalkeeper Matt Freese.
The visitors had some offensive bursts in the first half, but the best scoring opportunity came to New York in stoppage time.
Maximiliano Moralez intercepted a pass from Gabrielle Corbo and he joined Martinez, alone in front of Sirois. However, his shot missed the right post by a few inches. Ibrahim tried to equalize a few moments later, but Freese swallowed his shot well.
The two opponents exchanged a few shots on net in the opening minutes of the second half, but it was NYCFC who once again showed more finishing.
At 56e minute, James Sands passed the ball to Wolf, who made a nice move to reach Martinez. The latter nestled between two Montreal defenders and he shot on reception to beat Jonathan Sirois.
The Quebec goalie did it again in front of Agustin Ojeda and Wolf, in spectacular fashion, to allow his team to stay in the game. Sirois even received help from Nick Cushing’s men, in the 81st minutee minute, when they got tangled up in the penalty area during a three-on-one build-up.
However, New York City FC had already done enough to collect the three points.