MLS: First victory in Jeep Montreal beat Cincinnati 4-3

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CF Montreal’s players weren’t performing perfectly on Saturday afternoon, far from it. But when we finally score a first victory after the disappointing results, we want to appreciate it rather than dwelling on aspects of the match that were less exciting in the following minutes.

That’s how Wilfried Nancy felt after his players’ 4-3 victory over FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium.

CF Montreal (1-3-1) ended a four-game winning streak at the start of the season and beat FC Cincinnati (2-4-0) at home for the first time in the team’s history.

“It definitely feels good. I’m happy for the players because it wasn’t easy today again. I’m really happy for the guys. It’s good for everyone’s morale and sanity,” Nancy described.

For the third game in a row in the MLS, everything should be noted abroad, the Montreal team conceded at least three goals for its opponents.

“I don’t want to train now, I want to savor the victory a little bit. But we take avoidable goals. But the guys responded well, didn’t give up and went for that victory which feels good,” Nancy noted.

Joaquin Torres scored the winning goal in the 67th minute when he received a rebound near the net after a cross attempt by Ki Camara that goalkeeper Alec Kahn partially touched with his right hand while diving.

Camara also played a strong match and scored an important goal shortly before the end of the first half.

The big star of Montreal was Djordje Mihajlovic, who scored the second and third goals this season, in the first half.

It should be remembered that last season, the American midfielder scored only four goals during the entire season in MLS.

“He knows that last year he had chances where he could have scored some more goals, in fact. At the beginning of the year I wasn’t very happy – in quotes – because he was so obsessed with it that he wanted to shoot from 90 meters when he could pass. Now he’s finding the right shade. He’s getting older, boy. Today, he helped us a lot because I found him interesting,” Nancy analyzed.

For his part, Mihajlovic was more comfortable with the fact that the team finally erased the zero that got under the victory column than its weakness. As well, by the way.

“It’s great to get our first victory of the season. That’s the first thing. It’s a little bit later than we would have liked, but we got there,” recalls Mihajlovic.

“And it’s good that it happened in this type of game because (FC Cincinnati) went twice in the first half, and we tied the score each time. It shows you the character in this team. We believed we could get a result, not just a draw, but a win. In the end, it all comes down to your outlook and your mentality.”

Brandon Vazquez in the first half and Luciano Acosta, a penalty kick in the second half, beat Sebastian Briza. Alistair Johnston scored an own goal in the first half of the match.

CF Montreal will have to play one last game on the road before returning home to Stade Saputo on April 16 against the Vancouver Whitecaps. This other outing in hostile territory will take place next Saturday, in Harrison, New Jersey, against the New York Red Bulls.

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CF Montreal and FC Cincinnati started the weekend at the bottom of the Eastern Conference rankings, which didn’t stop them from delivering a top-level offensive spectacle in the first half.

Two players, one from each side, played the leading roles. In Montreal, it was Mihajlovic who helped his team erase a two-goal deficit after scoring in the 17th and 41st minutes.

On the other hand, it was Vasquez who scored the first goal of the match in the 12th minute and coordinated Johnston’s own goal in the 20th minute.

Wilfried Nancy’s men returned to the locker room with a 3-2 lead when Camara scored his first goal in Montreal’s uniform at the start of injury time.

The match was less heated early in the second half, but a superb shot from defender Alvas Powell down the right wing resulted in a penalty when Rudy Camacho, perhaps inadvertently, stopped FC Cincinnati’s in the 59th minute.

Two minutes later, Acosta managed to take the penalty kick, and hit the ball to the left of Breza, who jumped to his right.

Less than 10 minutes later, Torres regained the lead for Montreal with his first goal of the season.

This time, CF Montreal would have held.