Beyond the fundamental need for a group of athletes to win a sporting event, CF Montreal players should not lack sources of motivation when they face Orlando City SC on Saturday afternoon at Saputo Stadium.
Among them, we can note the interesting fight between these two teams in the classification of the Eastern Association of MLS.
CF Montreal (4-3-2) will start this game in fourth place just three points behind Orlando City SC (5-3-2) who have played one game more. A victory will therefore allow the Montreal team to pass in front, due to a better percentage of efficiency.
There is also the fact that CF Montreal will want to avenge its last two failures against Orlando City SC, suffered by identical scores of 2-0.
He lost in the very first match of the 2022 calendar, on February 27, but especially in the last of the 2021 season.
This painful setback, on a Sunday afternoon in November at Stade Saputo, would once again leave the Montreal squad out of the MLS playoffs.
“Orlando, it’s a bit of a heartbreaker, I’ll be honest with you, given how it went in the context last year and everything,” said head coach Wilfried Nancy Thursday noon, after the training of his troop at the Saputo stadium.
“But now, it’s a new season. At the beginning of the year we played against them, we had an interesting match, and finally we lost two three minutes of play, or seven minutes of play where they scored while we had control. The idea is to beat them, to play well at first to have the chance to win this match. »
But above all, and this is perhaps the best of all sources of motivation, CF Montreal will have the chance to edit a team mark by playing a seventh consecutive game without defeat.
However, this is a detail that does not escape the players, according to Nancy.
“Of course the players know it, and as we said at the start of the year, last year, the idea is to write a story, to put a chapter to the story. of the club. If the players can do it, they’re not going to miss it,” said Nancy, whose side have four wins and two draws since a clear 4-1 loss to New York City FC, 12th of March.
“Once again, we stay on the field but it is perhaps an extra motivation. And it’s always fun to write a page in the history of the club. They will think about it but once again, we have to find the right balance. But it wouldn’t be bad, ”Nancy admitted anyway.
A strong opponent
To achieve this feat, CF Montreal will have to take the measure of a team that has won five of its last seven games against Montreal, all by shutout.
Also, uncommon in MLS, CF Montreal will host a club that has yet to lose on rival turf in 2022, as evidenced by its record of two wins and two draws.
In short, he is a more than respectable opponent who will appear at Stade Saputo on Saturday.
“It’s a team with experience, it’s a team that is able to defend in low block, and also to attack quickly because they have very high quality players too, noted Nancy. In general, each time we have played against them, the matches have been interesting. Afterwards, we missed finishing the actions. »
Midfielder Samuel Piette, who could be called upon to play his first game as a starter in 2022 on Saturday, was full of praise for Orlando City SC.
“It’s a very powerful team offensively, with a lot of options. They are very good players, and it is a team that plays well together, which knows each other well, ”he analyzed.
“But after that, we are at home. So it’s up to us to take control of this game. It will be up to us to get this result. »