Four days before the final of the Canadian Championship, Hernán Losada has decided not to do a dress rehearsal before the evening he has been waiting for for a while. The duel against the Philadelphia Union was more of an audition.
Sometimes an overused expression, but it was with a B team that CF Montreal showed up at the cutthroat that is Subaru Park. Ultimately this young formation and composed of substitutes lost the flag 3-0, Saturday evening.
Only three players who were in the starting XI against DC United on Wednesday have started against Jim Curtin’s men. Some executives like Jonathan Sirois, Mathieu Choinière and Victor Wanyama were simply left out of the line-up. A rest that Losada will hope will be beneficial for the clash against the Vancouver Whitecaps in the cup final.
Union is one of the powerhouses on the home circuit. After this other win, she has won 17 of her last 20 outings in front of her fans. And yet.
In the first half the Impact was interesting, however, it missed some good chances. Lassi Lappalainen secured a one-on-one duel with Andre Blake, but was unsuccessful. It was in this half that some Montrealers had a card to play, including Amhed Hamdi, Sunusi Ibrahim and Zachary Brault-Guillard. Players who will want to do more than play supporting roles for the future.
Others like goalkeeper James Pantemis, who was getting his first start since the campaign opener, weren’t quite able to seize the opportunity.
However, the second half saw the hosts really win and demonstrated why they are the team of the hour in MLS. It is therefore with a formation of an average age under the bar of 23 years (22.9) that the CFM was defeated.