2023-04-30 02:46:00
CF Montreal continued their good streak by shutting out Kansas City Sporting 2-0 on Saturday night at Children’s Mercy Park.
Winner of two home games last week, against the Vaughan Azzurri in the Canadian Championship and the New York Red Bulls, the Bleu-blanc-noir took advantage of his time in Kansas State to sign a first victory at the stranger this season.
The Montrealers acquired this first triumph thanks to a very good performance in the first half. Goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois then put his mark on the game with a few fine saves.
Bryce Duke scored his first goal in a CF Montreal uniform (3-6-0) – and at the same time the first of his troops on opposing courts in 2023 – and Mathieu Choinière found the back of the net for a second consecutive game.
On his last visit to Kansas City, on March 30, 2019, the Montreal team had suffered a 7-1 thaw, the worst in its history. It was also his first win at Children’s Mercy Park since June 1, 2013.
Sporting (0-7-3) was coming back from a 3-0 victory over Tulsa Athletic on Tuesday night in the third round of the United States Soccer Cup. Peter Vermes’ men have the worst record in MLS and the worst offense with three goals in 10 games.
CF Montreal midfielder Ilias Iliadis has served a one-game suspension for receiving a red card. During his absence, Sean Rea and Ariel Lassiter were creative offensively on the left side and they set the stage for the team’s first goal.
If Iliadis had to watch the game off the field, veteran Victor Wanyama played his 100th game in all competitions with the Bleu-blanc-noir.
CF Montreal will return to action next Saturday when they host Orlando City SC at Stade Saputo.
Overseas relief
The visitors made a few incursions into enemy territory in the opening minutes, but it was Sporting who were the first to hit the target.
In the 13th minute, Logan Ndenbe spotted Alan Pulido outside the penalty area, but Sirois blocked his shot.
CF Montreal gave themselves the first real opportunity to score in the game, in the 25th minute. Lassiter slipped the ball past Chinonso Offor but goalkeeper Tim Melia had good reflexes to fend off the forward’s attempt.
Only six minutes later, Sirois gave Melia the answer when he jumped up to just push out a hard strike from Daniel Salloi.
The Montrealers got results before the end of the first half. In the 35th minute, their attacking build stunned Sporting and Duke put the finishing touches on after receiving a short pass from Choinière. In stoppage time, Choinière jumped on a loose ball in the penalty area and doubled his team’s lead.
Head coach Hernan Losada’s players were less incisive in the second half, opting for caution as they held a 2-0 lead. Sirois, however, gave his teammates a helping hand by frustrating Salloi and Johnny Russell in the space of nine minutes.
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