Summary Whitecaps-CF Montreal
There are things that two weeks off can’t save. For example, playing 10 against 11 abroad for about sixty minutes.
Already battered at even strength, CF Montreal was dominated by the Vancouver Whitecaps in a 5-0 loss at BC Place on Saturday night.
After living a fairy tale in its previous game, when it had signed a spectacular victory at home against the Philadelphia Union, the Bleu-blanc-noir was instead involved in a nightmare when Rudy Camacho was sent off at the 23rd minute.
The Montrealers resisted as best they could for about fifteen minutes, but the Whitecaps (1-2-3) opened the locks to score three quick goals before the end of the first half.
Brian White, Simon Becher and Julian Gressel threaded the needle in less than 10 minutes before returning to the locker room. Ali Ahmed and Becher, a second time, completed the scoring in the second half.
“Just with long balls, the Whitecaps created scoring opportunities,” said CF Montreal head coach Hernan Losada. I don’t know if these are situations we should avoid, but we can defend better. It’s important to stay strong as a team and avoid unnecessary mistakes. We have to start improving the defense because that’s the weak point of the team. It is a collective work. »
The sky had fallen on the head of CF Montreal (1-4-0) long before the home team filled their net. In the fourth minute, captain Samuel Piette injured what appeared to be his left hamstring when he regained his support.
“It’s not a game to forget. It’s a game to analyze, to see the mistakes and to improve, philosophized Losada. Of course, the conditions were not obvious. We lost our captain after a few minutes and we were down to 10 after about 20 minutes. But these are not excuses. »
It didn’t take long for things to take a turn for the worse, and not just on the scoreboard.
Defender Aaron Herrera returned to play for the Montreal team, but left the game in the second half after suffering discomfort following a run with the ball on the right flank.
The only positive for Hernan Losada’s men is the team record that Mathieu Choinière has equaled. He joined Anthony Jackson-Hamel for the most games played in MLS by an Academy-educated player (79).
CF Montreal will return to action next Saturday when they visit the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium.
The stampede
The Whitecaps quickly exploited the Montreal defense and referee Timothy Ford did not hesitate to take out the cards.
In the 11th minute, Camacho committed a foul and was shown a yellow card. Only six minutes later, Ahmed easily overtook Joel Waterman and the latter had no choice but to grab the opposing player.
The free-kick Ahmed had just won was taken by Gressel, but his shot went against the post to the left of goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois, giving the visitors a breather.
Moments after making a great play to block a shot in the penalty area, Camacho was outstripped by Becher and he had to snag the Whitecaps player. The CF Montreal defender received a second yellow card and was expelled from the game.
Sirois held off shots from Ahmed and Andres Cubas but couldn’t do anything on Whitecaps’ three quick first-half goals.
In the 38th minute, Javain Brown intercepted the ball and crossed it over Waterman, towards Becher. The striker left Gabriele Corbo to compromise and passed the ball to White, who scored.
Becher opened his counter only five minutes later, when he reached forward to redirect a pass from Ahmed. In stoppage time, Sirois made a fine save at White’s expense, but Gressel pounced on the return to score his first goal of the campaign.
“We gave them those goals. I know we were one player short, but I think we can do better. We learned the hard way,” midfielder Victor Wanyama expressed.
The return to play in the second half was to the advantage of the Whitecaps, who did not take their foot off the accelerator.
In the 48th minute, White inherited the ball at the entrance to the penalty area and passed it to Ahmed, who hit the target. Eleven minutes later, Becher closed the books by redirecting a Brown throw-in.