New York City FC falls to CF Montreal 1-0 in return to MLS action
Courtesy: New York City FC on X
By Chris Tsakonas
New York City’s return from a 16-day hiatus ended in defeat as CF Montreal came away with the 1-0 win at Stade Saputo tonight. The decisive goal came in the 22nd minute from Victor Loturi.
Here are three observations from the match.
Early flashes for New York City FC
After the opening whistle, it didn’t take long for New York City to threaten in the Montreal final third. Through the opening 15 minutes, New York City held a dominant 62 percent of the ball while regularly threatening the Montreal backline.
New York City’s best chance came on the counterattack in the eighth minute, when a cross from Agustin Ojeda was deflected towards the goal and narrowly stopped by goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
Montreal capitalizes on second chance
In the 22nd minute, Montreal broke through. First, a shot from Dante Sealy from the right side of the box was stopped by Tomas Romero - but the rebound fell to Victor Loturi to set up a one-time finish from the top of the box.
That Loturi goal ended up being a turning point in the match for Montreal, who not only took the lead but also controlled much more of the play as the half wore on. New York City struggled to create high-quality chances for the rest of the first half, with just two shots for a combined 0.07 xG (expected goals) during that stretch.
Second half rally falls short
After a sluggish finish to the first half, New York City finally created a spark during the second half of play. The attack created three quality chances in the span of seven minutes - with the best chance being a header from Andres Perea that just missed the target in the 65th minute.
“It took halftime for us to kind of get going again,” New York City FC assistant coach Mehdi Ballouchy said. “The second half was much better. We had control, we were in the final third, and we just lacked the last little play, or the last passor clever pass, and the right type of crosses and finishing.”
While New York City created eight total shots int he second half, it ultimately wasn’t enough to rescue a point as Montreal sat back to defend its 1-0 lead.
“We [were] in the final third a lot of the time, and in their way it's man-v-man, and they end up sitting with a lot of players,” Ballouchy said. “We talked about this in the build up to the game - we needed a give and go. We needed a third man run. We needed a clever pass for us to get something in around the box for a goal, and tonight we lacked it.”
Next Up
It’s a quick turnaround for New York City FC, who will return to Yankee Stadium to host Toronto FC on Thursday night. This will be the second meeting between the two sides this season, as New York City earned the 1-0 road win at BMO Field on April 26. Live radio commentary with Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence will get underway at 7:30 P.M. at newyorkcityfc.com/radio.