After not having had much to eat in recent games, CF Montreal fans have taken matters into their own hands. The duel against Charlotte FC started with a few yellow laughs and ended with jokes.
A few minutes after the start of the game at Saputo Stadium, three gigantic arrows were brandished behind the visitors’ goal to highlight the club’s offensive setbacks. “They weren’t wrong,” admitted Samuel Piette. It was fair and honest. »
Shut out in their last four outings, the Montrealers were going through a very nasty streak until newcomer Kwadwo Opoku warded off bad luck. After his success, wearing a broad smile, he walked to the corner kick flag and began to celebrate with the fans his first goal with the club, lifting a huge burden in the process.
The Impact’s first goal in 451 minutes gave the necessary wings, and the rest was a formality. The Bleu-blanc-noir won 2-0 on Saturday evening in front of its supporters and will take a break from its activities in MLS on a more positive note, since the next month will be devoted to the Coupe des Ligues.
“It lasted 10 minutes,” head coach Hernán Losada said before a burst of laughter in the press conference room.
“I saw that when we scored, the arrows were put away, and it was over. But it was good to know where the goal was,” he added, handsome player.
Opoku’s goal, the first win in five games and that laugh all came as a relief to the team at a key time. Admittedly, she will have to wait before her next game in MLS, but the victory also clears the sky as dark clouds float over the heads of the Montreal team.
By the same token, CFM protected their perfect 9-0-0 record when they scored first. And if we include the Canadian Championship, his record is even 12-0-0.
“I have the feeling that the collective has made a lot of progress defensively since the start of the season,” noted the Argentine driver. […] When we score the first goal, everyone has the feeling that we will keep the three points. »
The timing of this victory may not be trivial.
For the occasion, Samuel Piette got his first home start of the season. The first as captain.
As the Repentignois entered the lawn, he took a good moment to greet the crowd. He then tried to put in an excellent performance alongside his compatriot Mathieu Choinière, also back.
“I had a lot of ants in my legs tonight,” admitted number 6.
Piette also allowed himself to joke a little, saying that he was above all happy not to get hurt again. In short, morale was good in the Montreal camp.
It will be all week for Choinière, who was back in the squad just in time for the All-Star game, which he will take part in on Wednesday. He will be the only Canadian and the only representative of a club from the country of Roch Voisine to take part in this event.
As if his nomination wasn’t flattering enough, Losada praised his midfielder in a way he rarely does.
“Mathieu didn’t play four games and we didn’t win during that period. I think it just confirms how important he is for us.”
With its returning star, the Impact will want to get back to fighting for a place in the series, because when the Coupe des Ligues returns, there will only be 11 games left on the schedule. He will need all his energy for this final stretch.
It was Herrera’s first start since the Gold Cup, where he represented Guatemala. When he left the club to join his selection, his starting position was in danger. On his first start, he put on quite an interesting performance to cement that role.
This is a first game with Montreal for Lassiter, where he mainly played as a winger, his natural position. Although he was described as a plunger, his duties were offensive. If we thought we saw him shine more in this role, it was rather bad controls, sometimes badly calculated races and imprecise crosses that left us on our hunger.
Number of days until CF Montreal’s next game in MLS. Then, on August 20, they will face historic rivals Toronto FC. Until then, the club is guaranteed to play two League Cup games at home for the group stage. If he finishes in first or second place in the group, he will continue his journey in this competition involving the MLS and the Liga MX, the Mexican championship.
