MONTREAL - An offensively stunted CF Montreal is desperately looking to get any points out of this crucial week in the Major League Soccer season when it hosts Charlotte FC on Saturday evening.
Montreal (8-12-2) has faltered over a sequence of games that could have gone a long way in cementing its place in the Eastern Conference playoff race. In the club鈥檚 last four games鈥攁ll against opposition involved in the race to the post-season鈥擬ontreal has come up with a single draw and three losses while extending its goalless drought to 423 minutes.
鈥淭here have to be lessons learned from these games, especially when it鈥檚 against teams close in the standings鈥 said head coach Hernan Losada. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not the time to overanalyze our opponents, we need to look internally. We need to look at what we need to improve, how to score more, and start picking up clean sheets again.鈥
The game against Charlotte will be Montreal鈥檚 last before a one-month break from MLS action due to the Leagues Cup that will run from July 21 until Aug. 19. Entering that pause on the right foot will be not only be crucial for Montreal鈥檚 Leagues Cup run, but for the final stretch of the regular season that succeeds it.
Charlotte (6-8-8) has also had trouble winning of late, having picked up three points just once in its last 10 games. But it has also been very difficult to beat with five straight draws.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e a dangerous team with a lot of quality attackers and they play with a lot of intensity, so we鈥檒l have to match that,鈥 said defender Aaron Herrera, who returned from his first senior call-up to the Guatemalan national team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. 鈥淥ne of my good friends Justin Meram plays for them and plays on my side so that鈥檒l be a fun little battle.鈥
The last time the two teams faced off, they played to a 0-0 draw at Bank of America Stadium with very little between both sides 鈥 a good result for Montreal as its road and home form at the time were as different as night and day.
However, Montreal has lost its three games since and suffered consecutive losses at home for the first time since the 2020 with defeats to New York City FC and Atlanta.
In its most recent loss Wednesday, 3-0 to the Fire in Chicago, Montreal benefitted from its highest total of possession this season at 62 per cent. However, it struggled to consistently establish itself deep in Chicago鈥檚 defensive third throughout the game and was exposed to the counterattack a number of times鈥攎ost notably during Chicago鈥檚 first two goals.
鈥淥ur focus moves to our home stadium, and we have to work on improving in the final third because a good result before a long MLS break is so important.鈥 said midfielder Nathan Saliba. 鈥淲e need a bit more serenity with the ball, take our chances, and be a bit more on the same page in those situations.鈥
While Montreal must surely appreciate the time between games in order to prepare and rest the squad, it may also be a causes for concern. Montreal had its best run of the season at a time where its schedule was at its most congested, when losses were immediately put out of mind and wins were used as fuel for the following game.
Since that run ended, Montreal has not been able to string together multiple strong performances and is looking at this quick turnaround as a possible solution.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a similar situation (to the game after the 春色直播 Championship final against Vancouver) where we had a lot of travelling and not much time to prepare for the match against Minnesota, but we played very well,鈥 Losada said.
This report by 春色直播was first published July 14, 2023.
