CF Montréal scored two goals in the first half to defeat New York City FC 2-0 and confirm its place in the MLS playoffs on Saturday evening at Saputo Stadium.
The Bleu-blanc-noir only needed a draw to ensure their participation in the Eastern Conference playoff match, but they did more to finish in eighth place.
Laurent Courtois’ men will therefore welcome Atlanta United, who snatched ninth place from DC United thanks to a victory in Orlando on Tuesday, with a first round duel against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF at stake.
As has been the case for several weeks, the offensive trio composed of Caden Clark, Josef Martinez and Bryce Duke performed well for CF Montreal (11-13-10).
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Josef Martinez (right) scored CF Montreal’s second goal at the end of the first half.
Photo : USA Today Sports/Reuters / David Kirouac
Clark had a goal and an assist, Martinez had a goal on target once and Duke had an assist. The three players were the great architects of the good end of the season for the Montreal squad, which has lost only one of its last seven outings (5-1-1).
The Bleu-blanc-noir also took advantage of this great performance to defeat New York City FC (14-12-8) for the first time since July 7, 2021.
THE Pigeons
had won their last three games, but they missed an opportunity to secure home-court advantage for the first playoff round. They instead slipped to sixth place, following Charlotte FC’s victory in Washington.
CF Montreal was without midfielder Nathan Saliba, who missed the match due to a suspension for accumulating yellow cards. Joel Waterman took his place and Gabriele Corbo was inserted in central defense.
Courageous performance
The two teams did not opt for caution at the start of the first half and the game was lively from start to finish.
In the second minute, Alonso Martinez spotted Hannes Wolf in the penalty area, but a nice retreat from Raheem Edwards saved the furniture. On the other side, following a free kick, Clark had the opportunity to land a violent shot, but it went over the net.
NYCFC upped the tempo for around ten minutes, sowing a little nervousness in the stands of Saputo stadium.
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CF Montreal defender Gabriele Corbo during the first half of the match against New York City FC, Saturday evening, at Stade Saputo.
Photo : USA Today Sports/Reuters / Eric Bolte
Goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois first grabbed Santiago Rodriguez’s overhand shot before Keaton Parks narrowly missed the target following a Waterman turnover. The best chance, however, came from the foot of Tayvon Gray, but Sirois made a superb save by diving to his left.
Perhaps energized by this stop, the Montrealers opened the scoring in the 18th minute. Second efforts from Bryce Duke and Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty saw Duke win the ball back on the right side. He made a cross towards Martinez, but the Venezuelan attracted the defensive cover before leaving plenty of room for Clark, who hit the target.
The CF Montreal defense was hot at times for the rest of the first half, but the sacrifices of several players as well as the calm of Sirois led to a brilliant performance before returning to the locker room.
With just seconds left, Gray committed a turnover and the ball sailed down the sideline. Clark redoubled his efforts to beat Thiago Martins and slipped the ball to Martinez, who barely deflected it off his toes into the net.
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Jonathan Sirois blocks a shot from Alonso Martinez during the first half.
Photo: The Canadian Press / Graham Hughes
The visitors were insistent in the second half, but the Bleu-blanc-noir’s defensive curtain did not provide many great scoring opportunities. And when shots were aimed at Sirois, the latter had no difficulty in capturing them.
Under loud applause from the crowd, the Montrealers were then able to close the books and confirm their shutout.
