MONTRÉAL — At the beginning of the year, CF Montreal probably didn’t have Wednesday’s match against the New England Revolution circled on its calendar. But that has likely changed after what happened just over three weeks ago.
In front of a full house at Saputo Stadium, Montreal saw fans turn against the team in a crushing 5-0 defeat to the Revolution. The Aug. 24 loss, combined with a 4-1 defeat in Cincinnati seven days later, also cast doubt on Laurent Courtois’ future as the team’s head coach and unity within the group.
On Wednesday, Montreal (7-12-9) will have a chance for revenge against New England (8-16-3) in Foxborough, Mass., after getting back to winning ways in Saturday’s 2-1 victory against Charlotte FC.
“There’s a small sense of revenge, but it’s mostly about ourselves," Courtois said Tuesday before a practice at Centre Nutrilait. "It was a key moment in the season when we let ourselves down and let down the fans.
"There’s a feeling of showing that the gap wasn’t as big between the two teams. We are determined to present a different face, but at the same time, we just want to turn the page and not dwell on the past."
There are still lessons to be learned from that beating. In the first half, Montreal players were victims of their own lethargy, and in the second half, they simply deviated from the game plan.
In the weeks that followed, Courtois and his staff worked on ensuring that their players maintained a high level of effort while staying disciplined in their collective play. They performed slightly better in Cincinnati before delivering a much more complete performance against Charlotte.
“If you don’t learn off your mistakes, you’re going to repeat them, so we have to learn about that (loss),” defender Fernando Alvarez said. "During the international break (in September) we were working really hard, physically and obviously tactically.
"It was a really difficult game because we lost, and obviously at home it was really painful, but we’re going to work with that pain and give our best face tomorrow."
If the past is any indication of the future, Montreal might not get its revenge. Courtois's squad has just two road wins this season, and none since March 10 in Miami.
At least they'll head to Gillette Stadium with some momentum. Unlike the match against the Revolution, Montreal dictated the pace against Charlotte at Saputo Stadium, eventually finding the back of the net twice in about three minutes.
Despite a reply from Charlotte before the end of the first half, Montreal didn’t flinch and delivered one of its best defensive performances of the season.
"Sticking to the basics and sticking to what got us to the win on the weekend," wingback Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty said of Montreal’s approach going forward. "Anyone can see when you watch our team — when we're confident, we're humble and we're doing the little things, hard work and stuff, that our quality will come out.
"So I think just sticking to the basics, and going into tomorrow's game with the mindset that, yeah, we won on the weekend, but we want more."
The duo of Caden Clark and Bryce Duke showed a lot of creativity in midfield against Charlotte and both players managed to score. Up front, veteran Josef Martinez created more space while being a threat in the penalty box.
Courtois may have found a combination that could bring more offensive firepower.
"We had talked about finding a little more possession time and having more players in the penalty area," he said. "We wanted to be present for second balls and second phases of play. They showed some interesting things."
With a win, Montreal would temporarily join D.C. United for ninth place and the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. After Wednesday, only five games remain in the MLS regular season.
"Everyone believes in the playoffs; I just don’t want us to hesitate or get carried away by small egos," Courtois said. "We need to focus on finding solutions while putting our personal situations aside. I’d like us to have certainty and not wait for results. That’s what happened on Saturday."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
Simon Servant, The Canadian Press
