MONTREAL — CF Montreal scored twice on its first three shots and then hung on for a 3-2 victory over visiting Mexican side Atletico San Luis in Leagues Cup action on Tuesday night at Stade Saputo.
CF Montreal picked up three crucial points in its final game of the Leagues Cup group stage. Montreal lost 4-1 to Orlando City in its opening game on Friday.
“Today, we delivered," said CF Montreal head coach Laurent Courtois. "We didn’t change anything. Everything about the game was the same, and now we just have to do it again next time.
“It’s also better suited to our style when the game is open and teams don’t show up just to sit deep and defend," Courtois added. "You need two teams to play this way.”
Tom Pearce, Matias Coccaro, and Sunusi Ibrahim scored for Montreal, while Franck Boli and Jurgen Damm converted second-half penalties for San Luis.
The game opened with both teams trading possession in dangerous areas and several half-chances. As Montreal slowly began to exercise more control over the match, gaps formed in the San Luis defence.
As the game continued to open up and the tempo increased, the matchup also became far more physical and confrontational — a feature that has become more common as the rivalry between Liga MX and Major League Soccer continues to intensify.
“It’s never easy facing a Liga MX team," said CF Montreal midfielder Bryce Duke. "It’s fun because you know it’s going to get chippy … [In Orlando] it was tough to get going, but that just comes with playing away.
"When we’re at home, we kind of just go out there and do our thing.”
Duke was the first to capitalize in the 17th minute as he was able to pick out Pearce at the top of the penalty area unmarked. The new Montreal signing made no mistake, smashing the ball into the bottom corner and opening the scoring in his first start with the club.
Pearce was not finished as just 10 minutes later he received the ball wide and sent a perfect cross into Coccaro, who headed it home into the open goal.
“Couldn’t have asked for a better first game at home, and to get a goal and an assist just topped it off,” said Pearce, who received the Man of the Match honours for his efforts.
“Since I’ve come here, I’ve worked hard and listened to the staff to pick up the tactics. I just enjoy playing with the ball at my feet, so the way the manager wants to play is perfect.”
With momentum on their side, Montreal continued to press forward nearly adding a third marker before halftime when Coccaro was brought down in the penalty area by goalkeeper Andres Sanchez. Sanchez immediately remedied his error however, guessing correctly and stopping Coccaro’s powerful penalty headed to the bottom-left corner. This was the second penalty Montreal has missed in as many games.
San Luis began the second half with far more aggression in pursuit of getting back into the game. That left them open to the counter as Montreal had several opportunities to improve their goal differential — a key tiebreaker in the group stage — but could not find the final ball.
The best opportunity when substitute Mahala Opoku jumped on a loose ball from close range but sent the ball crashing off the bar. Not even five minutes Montreal would be punished for its lack of finish.
After Joel Waterman brought down Boli in the penalty area, the striker calmly converted on the spot kick, bringing San Luis to within one with 15 minutes remaining.
“I think we panicked a little bit in the beginning of the game over small things, and that left us tired in the end," Courtois said. "But I think we were coherent all the way throughout.
“Sometimes teams come here and they just want to shut everything down, but today it was a team that was very aggressive and was looking to get forward.”
Despite San Luis’s renewed confidence, Montreal added a third goal just minutes later. Immediately following a corner, Ibrahim was able to catch Sanchez out of position, restoring Montreal’s two-goal lead.
With the game nearing conclusion, San Luis were allowed to bring the game to within one due on a last-minute penalty awarded after a Video Assistant Referee review.
Damm scored on a penalty just before time stoppage time expired.
UP NEXT
San Luis plays Orlando City on Sunday in the final Group M stage game. That result will decide the final classification of the group and which two teams advance. The only way Montreal can be eliminated is if San Luis wins in regulation time with a better goal differential.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2024.
Elias Grigoriadis, The Canadian Press