D.C. United took control of the game. He was leading 2-0 with ten minutes to play. The club from the American capital crossed swords with a team that had not amassed a single point after conceding the first goal.
In fact, this team has collected points only once on the road in MLS this season.
The club in question is CF Montreal, and he was in the cables.
Absolutely nothing indicated that the tide was going to turn. When the Montrealers had the slightest chance, they ruined it by sending the ball twenty spans behind the net.
Then a flash of genius hit the collective, especially Sunusi Ibrahim and Ariel Lassiter. In the space of 70 seconds, each set up the other’s success, and just as simply, CFM escaped with a 2-2 draw against D.C. United on Wednesday night, amidst general euphoria.
After the Montrealers’ second goal, it was possible to see Joel Waterman and Victor Wanyama running towards head coach Hernán Losada to share this moment of joy.
“It’s easy to be the coach of this team,” said the former D.C. United driver, quite proud to have played the spoilsports.
“Both in good and bad times,” added Losada. […] It is a very, very united group, which works a lot, which remains positive. We begin to believe in it, and this, a lot. After an error, there are several players who want to work harder to help their next teammate. »
The Argentine has gone to the top this season with the club, they have won 8 of their last 11 outings. A sequence that occurs immediately after having made a visit to the shallows. His troopers gave up on six of their first seven sorties. What the team is made of, he knows very well.
Is this the team with the most talent? Absolutely not. It’s the team with the smallest payroll in MLS and zigzags back and forth across the red line.
However, she demonstrated a strength of character that was not always possible to see at the start of the campaign. Some veterans were dragging their feet in the hollow passage. However, there was a click after a victory however banal against Vaughan Azzurri and since then, the collective is in symbiosis.
To see if this uniqueness will be able to be constant and perceptible during a relapse.
The number one suspect for the defenses is not Sunusi Ibrahim. Except in the Canadian Championship, where he is more terrifying than a medieval ruler in search of power.
In MLS, the Nigerian striker had not scored since November 2021. It was dated.
He first performed a perfect uncrossed header that flew over the opposing goalkeeper and cut off the rivals’ lead. He then followed it up with a caviar that Lassiter couldn’t miss.
“He brought everything we lacked in the first half,” Losada said. This passion, this energy, these races in the back of the defense, he offered at every opportunity. In short, he was at the heart of this second wind.
Injuries to Romell Quioto and Mason Toye launched Ibrahim to the fore. The 20-year-old gets starts or comes on as a substitute in every game. After bombing the net last Saturday against Inter Miami, Ibrahim finally found the back of the net against Wayne Rooney and his gang. Nothing better for the morale of a goalscorer than a success.
His contribution also allowed the Bleu-blanc-noir to sign its first draw this season. This point will bring “a positive flow” for the next series of matches, according to Losada.
The next two games of the Montrealers will be abroad. First, against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday, then especially against the Vancouver Whitecaps, Wednesday, in the final of the Canadian championship.
However, this point comes with a price: central defender Rudy Camacho fell in action after a strong game. A nasty collision knocked him out on D.C. United’s second goal and the Frenchman left the duel on a stretcher. A heavy loss for the central hinge.
When Zachary Brault-Guillard enters the game, it is normally to make the difference offensively. He absolutely answered the call against D.C. United. The right-back could easily have had an assist on his record if Ibrahim hadn’t sent his cross back far over the net.
The attacking midfielder has been struggling to find his touch for a few games. He is neither decisive nor in tune with his teammates. The tactical scheme with two attackers seems to confine it to the center of the opposing defenses. Since his absence due to a minor injury, which cost him two games, things have not been going well for the American.
This is the number of goals Ariel Lassiter has contributed to in his last three games. Two goals and two assists in just 207 minutes.
