The opposite of scoring the first minute of a soccer match is you have another goal on the clock than your opponent. The downside is you can get caught defending that lead in very long minutes. And sometimes, we get burned.
What happened Sunday afternoon at Stade Saputo was not bad. CF Montreal lost to Real Salt Lake 2-1. This second defeat in four days was suffered in front of 14,205 spectators.
It’s almost become a fun habit this season at home. While the late arrivals disturbed the attentive spectators, CF Montreal opened up the scoring.
On Sunday, it was a superb combination, from the first minute, that led to midfielder Djordje Mihailovic’s seventh goal of the season in MLS.
Joaquin Torres, who has good feet, jumped to the right side after receiving a long ball from Victor Wanyama. After entering the penalty area, he handed it to Ahmed Hamdi, who did the same to Mihailovic, who shot straight behind the net.
Against a team that has never won a game in Montreal, and has only claimed a small road victory in seven trips this season, this lead seems interesting.
However, you need to read the fine print in the set of statistics. Heading into Sunday’s game, Salt Lake City has won seven games this season after giving up first, most recently on Saturday against Austin.
However, CF Montreal never scored a second goal. In fact, Romell Quioto sent a powerful shot into the opposing goal, but he was in offside position in the 16th minute.
Gradually, CF Montreal’s scoring opportunities disappeared, along with a sense of urgency to kill the game as soon as possible.
The guests took their mark. In the 54th minute, Justin Glad redirected a corner kick with a header to the end post abandoned by CF Montreal.
Twelve minutes later, Sergio Cordova took advantage of a superb backheel from Maike Chang between two Montreal defenders, before beating goalkeeper Sebastian Breza by a cross shot.
If Breza seemed weak on this goal, he saved his camp several times in the fight, especially thanks to a superb save from the chest in the 45th minute.
CF Montreal will return in front of their home crowd on Wednesday night for a Canadian Championship game against Forge FC, a Canadian Premier League team based in Hamilton.
12 in public, forever
At halftime, the team’s new president, Gabriel Gervais, held a brief ceremony in the middle of the field to formalize the withdrawal of No. 12, in honor of the Montreal public, who was named the 12th player.
The team invited several veterans who wore jersey no. 12 in recent years. Thus, Patrick Diotte, defender from 1993 to 2001, Sandro Grande, midfielder in 2008, Amir Lowery, midfielder in 2011, and Eduardo Sebrango, forward from 2002 to 2005, then in 2009-2010, all received No. current team.
A jersey that, ironically, will go out of fashion next season because the team will unveil the new logo on Friday morning.
Team owner Joey Saputo thanked the public for their support in a video that was recorded and shown on the giant screen.
Source: Radio-Canada
