The crew lays down the law against Allied forces in demilitarized Montreal

It's difficult to compete with a strong Wilfried Nancy team even when Mason Towey, your last option in attack who came on in the second half, had to go off injured after just one race.

Thus he was added to the long list of injured artillerymen at the CFM. In addition to Matias Coccaro, Joseph Martinez, Kwadwo Opoku and Jules-Anthony Villsant – the latter of whom was absent due to personal reasons – Sanusi Ibrahim became the only striker able to secure the services of his attacking teammates on Wednesday.

“There are questions to ask,” Samuel Peet said clearly and frankly after the meeting. It's hard to have a lot of injuries. This means we lack a bit of internal competition, allowing us to push you to ensure you are performing to your standards and that you deserve your place when match day comes. »

Peet repeatedly referred to the “lack of engagement” from his teammates during his speech, which lasted less than 10 minutes. “It's a shame and frustrating,” he said, because with “a little more intensity,” CF Montreal could have “hurt” the crew.

Does the lack of attacking resources affect the Montrealers' mental side, meaning that despite all their efforts, they are under the impression that the quality will not be there in the final third?

“There may be that,” Piet answers, but he nevertheless stressed that his club “trusts him.” [ses] “Attackers.”

“A lot of times, there's this final gesture that's missing, the cross, where we adjust the final pass poorly, the shot. »

His coach, Laurent Courtois, agrees with him on this matter.

“We have to be a little more lethal,” the Frenchman said. Is it hesitation, lack of recognition or, at the moment, lack of quality? We will continue to work to insist on this. »

“This is what shocked me the most.”

There is Ariel Lassiter, who is trained as a winger, who can help in attack. His golden opportunity, a direct shot missed by the goalkeeper in the 11th minute^H A minute could have changed the course of the meeting.

But under Laurent Courtois, Lassiter is primarily used as a left-back. With the mandate to retreat from defense. We saw clearly, in a few matches, especially on Wednesday, that this is not his strength. Away from this. Peet said he was beaten several times in this manner, including “stupidly” on Columbus' second goal. He didn't say his name, but that's why we're here.

The captain who entered Flight 58 said: “This is what shocked me the most.”^H. The goal was scored 2-1 in the 59th minute^H.

“We lose [le ballon] In an artistic gesture that still seems too simple to me, in the end, we have to go back. »

Wanting to push his team forward, Lassiter sent the ball to a Crew defender. What followed was a deadly counterattack that led to the error of several Montrealers, whose defensive retreat would become a lesson for the wrong reasons in the coming days.

“I find that these actions happen quite often. […] When you make these technical mistakes, it affects morale because you have to come back [et te dépenser] Physically too. »

“It's the talent that speaks.”

After all, when Mason Toye went off injured after a promising race at the age of 74^HMontreal supporters enjoyed one of the rare moments of celebration emanating from this meeting. Alessandro Bello, Mauro's son, got his first minutes in MLS and at the Saputo Stadium. In front of his father's eyes, he sits in the stands.

The other moment? Matthew Choiniere's goal from a penalty kick at the end of the first half. A reward previously obtained by defender Joaquin Sosa, who forced goalkeeper Patrick Schulte to commit a dazzling error in the attack, which he attached to a perfect pass from Ibrahim.

After his successful shot, Al-Kibi hid his ears. He hid his eyes. He hid his mouth. Brother Nicholas Landry, of the RDS, noted the reference to the Wisdom Monkeys. The saying goes: “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.”

“All I have to say is that it's talent that speaks,” Choiniere commented to reporters afterwards.

It was the first time in three weeks that he had spoken to the media, after being at the heart of a rumored trade request from CF Montreal on 1^any Last May, it is believed that this was due to the failure of contract negotiations. This was followed by the departure of sporting director Olivier Renard and a certain crisis for the management of the Montreal club.

“I want to give 100% here, in all the matches I have to play. We all saw what happened. These are just rumours. I want to give everything for the club. »

Nancy and the crew as usual

In Montreal, Wilfried Nancy was accustomed to a possession-based style of play. His CFM teams always got close to 60%.

That's exactly what the crew came to visit Quebec City on Wednesday. It must also be said that Laurent Courtois has opted for a rotating formation, while Montreal plays every three days in May. This was also the case for the visitors, who notably rested top scorer Cucho Hernandez.

It paid off quickly. Max Arvesten returned to the penalty area to make it 1-0 in the 19th minute^H minute.

Despite a few Montreal tremors here and there, especially towards the end of the game, Nancy's troops were not too worried. Until he scored the insurance goal with the foot of Marino Henestroza in the 89th minute^H.

So, here's a Montreal team with just one win in nine games, and three straight losses. As matches follow one after another, the task will not get easier in the coming weeks. An intense derby match against Toronto FC awaits you on Saturday in the Queen City.

“Knowing John Herdman, there's going to be a lot of emotion, a lot of commitment,” Peet says. We'll have to respond a little for the time being. In duels, in mentality. »

It's funny that Piet is talking about a duel. Because recently there was only one place for the mayor of the towns where his club played. And it's not CF Montreal.

On the rise: Dominik Iankov

We've seen very little of him since the start of the season, but Iankov, when he's on the field, is showing interesting offensive flashes. He started the game on Wednesday, and didn't look bad in his role, despite his team's significant talent gap against the opposition. The problem is that he can dominate the field in every other game so far, if not less.

Bottom: Reda Zuhair

For a player looking to get more minutes and prove himself with the big club, finally, this season, he doesn't seem as hungry to step forward and make the starting play on Wednesday. When he touched the ball, he would just run a few steps, then slowly move back toward the two lanes.