NBA: Chenonso Ofore scores, Jonathan Serwa shines as Montreal win

MONTREAL – This isn’t the first time the goalkeeper’s performance has caught the eye in Montreal, but Jonathan Sirois has been collecting it since the start of the season.

One of Serwa’s five saves set the stage for the game’s only goal as Montreal shut out Inter Miami 1-0 Saturday night at Saputo Stadium.

After a frantic start to the game, Bleu-blanc-noir felt more pressure from their opponents before returning to the locker room. Inter Miami (5-9-0) wanted to continue this momentum in the first minutes of the second half, but Siroa intervened.

Quebec made a great save at the expense of Corentin Jean, starting “Sirois! Siroa!” in the stands behind him. Moments later, Ariel Lassiter delivered a high-quality cross to Chenonceau Ofore, who scored the eventual winner.

“It’s a sequence in which everything is done quickly. I see it’s their attacker alone, and for me it’s also to see how my defenders will react. They try to go long and I try to cover the remaining spaces. It’s the risk of diving to the right or being patient. I chose the second option and it was successful,” Siroa noted.

This is Siroa’s fifth home shutout in all competitions. He went undefeated at Saputo Stadium in his last 494 minutes in goal, a team record.

At the beginning of the season, it seemed clear that James Panthemis would inherit the position of the first goalkeeper, but the injury in the first minutes of the first match, in Miami, reversed the plans. However, as a junior, Siroa took over at short notice and is now sixth among MLS goaltenders with 46 saves since the start of the season.

“I think about that all the time. I treat matches as if it’s the first and that’s about it. It’s often the first time I face a team. I always learn new things and it’s an enriching experience every time I step onto the field. It’s my year.” The first and now I am very happy with the way things are going.”

One of the storylines of the match was also the reunion of Bryce Duke and Lassiter, who were acquired from Inter Miami CF over a month earlier in exchange for Kamal Miller.

For the second consecutive game, Lassiter provided an offensive spark for his club. On Wednesday evening, at the Canadian Championship, it was he who started the dribbling by scoring the first goal of the game. This time, it was his impressive display that made the difference for Montreal (6-8-0), just minutes after he entered the game.

“I was already thinking about bringing in new players to make a difference. When there is a striker like Chenonceau, he needs crosses. And not just positions to put on the surface, but positions with an idea behind them. Ariel entered well and quickly and made a good cross on the ground. The coach said Hernan Losada: “Hats off to the players who come with a good mentality to make a difference”.

The Montreal team moved up to the ninth and final level, giving access to the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. They also snapped a two-game losing streak in MLS.

On the other hand, Inter Miami suffered its third consecutive defeat in the NBA. Six of their seven away matches since the start of the season have been lost.

Used as a starter for the 16th consecutive game, Matthew Choinier marked the 100th career appearance for Montreal.

CF Montreal will be back in action on Wednesday night when they visit D.C. United.

Sirois stands out

Montrealers set the pace in the first minutes of the game, breaking into enemy territory with several swift attacks.

Ofor, Duke and Sunusi Ibrahim had some attacking connections while wingers Lassi Lappalainen and Aaron Herrera provided them with good balls. Although there were a number of shots on target, none hit the target.

The visitors also had moments near Siroa’s net, especially in the last 15 minutes of the first half. The best chance came from Robert Taylor, who missed the goal in the 37th minute.

Sirwa was able to score in the 51st minute. After Leonardo Campana returned the ball to the center of the penalty area, the Quebec goalkeeper moved to his left to block a shot from Jean.

His teammates rewarded him after less than two minutes. Lasseter joined Ofore, who broke free from Franco Negri’s cover before reaching out with his right foot to open the scoring.

Siroa made another save, in the 78th minute from a Negri free-kick, but he was also lucky on two occasions. In the 87th minute, Nicolas Stefanelli hit a fierce shot against the crossbar while Benjamin Kremashchi saw his shot hit the post in stoppage time.

CF Montreal was hot late in the game, but they managed to close the books to score the win.