Red Bulls 2 – CF Montreal 2 | A lame performance, a stolen point

CF Montreal was the architect of its own misfortune on a stormy Wednesday night in New York. But it also knew how to take advantage of the Red Bulls’ generosity. Its 2-2 draw is certainly not deserved, but under the circumstances, it will take it.

Where to start in this eventful match? With the disastrous first-half exit of the Montrealers? With the two goals by Josef Martínez that allowed the CFM to come back from behind twice? With the weather delay that forced both teams to stay in the locker rooms for nearly two hours?

Let’s go with Martínez. Because it was the Venezuelan who orchestrated this New Jersey heist, taking charge of a particularly clumsy Montreal Ocean’s Eleven.

Trailing 1-0 after the long break, Montreal came out of the tunnel with a new desire. But it was above all the transmutation of the attack – Martínez who came on for an invisible Cóccaro, Jules-Anthony Vilsaint who replaced a Mason Toye still bothered by an injury – that changed the game.

A free kick won by Mathieu Choinière, back in Laurent Courtois’ starting lineup after the Copa América, just like Samuel Piette and Joel Waterman, allowed Josef Martínez to sniff out a good deal. In the 67th minute^ein the axis, just in front of the surface, the gunner hit the target with a shot deflected by the New York wall.

A goal that seemed to whip the visitors and annoy the locals. But it was rather Choinière, then, who committed what could very well have been the irreparable, scoring an own goal on a corner needlessly given to the Red Bulls. In the 75th^eNew York thus made it 2-1, and the defeat, another away from home, seemed inevitable.

But two minutes later, Sean Nealis gave Montreal hope again. On a push from Vilsaint, he threw the Quebecer to the ground, far from the ball, in the penalty area. A foul that gave the CFM a penalty, and which caused Nealis to be sent off on a red card.

Martinez stepped up to the penalty spot and made it 2-2 with a nice curling shot

Montreal didn’t stop there. They pushed and pushed until the end of the game. Ruan even thought he had given his team the victory in the 96th minute.^ebut he had been out of the game.

Worrying bad starts

And to think that until the arrival of the new attackers around the hour mark, Montreal had not shot once on net.

CF Montreal played a very poor performance in the first period, with a midfield that seemed out of tune with its porous defense and isolated attack. The Bleu-blanc-noir was guilty of many turnovers in its own zone. It was the result of the typical high pressure of the Red Bulls, yes. But also of a soft game, without intensity, and a series of technical wastes.

At 18^ethis other bad start to the season ended up costing him dearly. Wikelman Carmona, taking advantage of a bad Montreal pass, took a good low shot, from afar, to make it 1-0.

The rest of the first 45 minutes was no better. So much so that Montreal could consider itself lucky to return to the locker room down by a single goal.

The last 20 have been more conclusive, certainly. And there is some good to come from this comeback twice rather than once, in these circumstances. But the bad outings of this team are starting to be particularly worrying.

Despite everything, CF Montreal is back in the playoff picture, in 9^e position.