Saturday, June 29, 2024. 9:24 p.m.
(Update : Saturday, June 29, 2024. 11:22 p.m.)
SUMMARY
MONTREAL – The CF Montreal evening really began when Josef Martínez offered his best imitation of Superman. It ended when Ruan celebrated a goal by donning a Flash mask.
Laurent Courtois deplored the lack of “personality” of his group last week after an embarrassing defeat in Colorado. It certainly wasn’t perfect, but his guys showed him that, for a moment one evening, his message had been heard.
After an inspired performance from Martínez, late goals from Dominic Iankov (89th) and the speedy Ruan (93rd) allowed Montreal to break an unsatisfactory tie and cruise to an important 4-2 victory against the Philadelphia Union, a direct rival.
The result allowed them to jump four spots in the Eastern Conference standings, where they now sit 10th. Some might say it’s early days for that kind of calculation, but for a team that had only won one of its previous 12 MLS games, it was already starting to get late.
Time will tell whether these three points will help establish a solid foundation for the future or will ultimately be just a blip in a lost season. For Courtois, who has repeatedly lamented his troops’ lack of consistency, the answer lies in the hands of his players.
“I told them: there is the version where you listen, you apply and you stick together and there is the version where you hesitate, you forget or you fall asleep and you will have difficulties. I don’t know [ce que ça sera]. I told them we’ll see what they do on Wednesday. »
“That’s my challenge with this group,” added the coach. “How do we stop it being episodic stuff and how do we find a bit of individual and collective consistency?”
“Every game, we have this discussion. We don’t have our current position in the standings, admitted Bryce Duke. But when we look at it more closely, the teams in front of us are not that far away. A three win streak and we are in the middle of the pack. »
For a team that has not had two wins since the first two weeks of March, this task does not look as easy as the young midfielder suggests.
“We have to repeat performances like today,” suggests Duke. The most important thing for us is not to give up mentally when we take a lead or something goes wrong. We have to come out strong and send our message rather than waiting until the second half to react. You have to have the pedal to the floor for 90 minutes. »
More details to come.
