MONTREAL — It took a highlight-reel scissor kick in the first half by New York City FC’s Matias Pellegrini to stop CF Montreal’s home clean sheet and win streak at six games on Saturday night.
Pellegrini's goal in the 33rd minute stood as the winner for New York (5-7-9) which claimed its first road win of the Major League Soccer season with the 1-0 decision.
“They came into this game with a very organized game plan and finding the spaces was very difficult, but I think we gave it our all,” said Montreal head coach Hernan Losada. “I think we played better than in some games where we ended up winning. It just didn’t go our way (tonight).”
Montreal (8-10-2) had found success in their run by imposing themselves and dictating the tempo early on, but struggled to do that on Canada Day. The hosts conceded more possession and failed to press as high up the pitch, allowing New York more time to set up and play.
“They keep the ball really well and we struggled a bit to figure out our press. Our aggressiveness just wasn’t really there throughout the game,” said Mason Toye.
One significant gap on the Montreal starting roster in the last two games has been the position of right wing back. With Aaron Herrera and Zachary Brault-Guillard representing Guatemala and Canada respectively at the CONCACAF Gold Cup and both Mathieu Choinière and Lassi Lappalainen out with injury, there was nobody left to play in that position naturally.
This means a normally incisive part of Montreal’s offence was missing, leaving attacking midfielder Sean Rea to be slotting into that position.
“Given that we were playing at home, we tried to play with wing backs that are wingers,” said Losada. “It’s not their strength, so many times we were not in balance.”
Their timid start was finally punished at the half-hour mark when a cross from Braian Cufré found Pellegrini who launched the ball into the top corner with a spectacular scissor kick.
Conceding first has been a kiss of death for Montreal this season. It has happened 12 times, with the club only taking a lone draw from those games and losing the other 11 — nine by shutout. It was an even rarer phenomenon at home as Montreal had gone 797 minutes without conceding a goal across all competitions, dating back to their April 23 loss against D.C. United.
“I think we were chasing the game a lot of the time not just because we were losing, we just kept giving them the ball,” said George Campbell. “We trust each other as teammates and this is a team effort so we take the result as a team.”
Looking to secure their first win in 12 games in all competitions, NYCFC descended into a low block, looking to sit behind the ball and suffocate Montreal’s midfield. For nearly an hour, the approach worked as the hosts were limited to low-percentage shots from outside the penalty area.
“I think we still created chances; it was just the final pass that was missing tonight. Closing out our opportunities was kind of the issue,” said Toye. “NYCFC knows how to move the ball around and keep the pace ticking (even while defending).”
Both teams will be back in action in front of their home crowds as New York returns to Citi Field and hosts Charlotte FC on July 5, while Montreal will welcome Atlanta United on July 8.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 1, 2023.
Elias Grigoriadis, The Canadian Press
