CF Montreal got back to their bad habits and lost 2-1 to the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night in New Jersey.
Brilliant defensively during their recent six-game winning streak, the Bleu-blanc-noir got caught a few times in their penalty area and paid dearly for their mistakes.
In the first half, Andres Reyes was able to recover a loose ball in front of the enemy net to hit the target and Cory Burke slipped through the Montreal defense to score the eventual winning goal.
The Red Bulls (3-4-7) have gone four games unbeaten in all competitions since Troy Lesesne replaced Gerhard Struber as the team’s head coach.
Joel Waterman replied for CF Montreal (5-8-0), which suffered a second consecutive loss, both conceded on the road this week. He is 1-7-0 on opposing courts since the start of the campaign.
Hernan Losada’s men defeated the Red Bulls 2-0 on April 22 to begin a four-game winning streak in MLS.
Entering the second half against FC Cincinnati on Wednesday night, Lassi Lappalainen got the start against the New Yorkers. Romell Quioto, who was involved in a scrum seven days ago, missed a second game in a row.
CF Montreal will continue its grueling series of games by hosting Forge FC next Wednesday in the semi-finals of the Canadian Championship.
Surprised in the first half
In the pouring rain at the Red Bull Arena, both sides played disjointedly in the opening minutes. Ball controls were more difficult and a few players lost their footing on the soaked grass.
The Red Bulls were the first to knock on the door. Goalkeeper Carlos Miguel Coronel made a long clearance and the ball found Burke behind the defenders. His shot from a tight angle, however, missed the target.
In the 21st minute, Dru Yearwood made a good tackle at Victor Wanyama’s expense, but no foul was called and Wikelman Cabrera fired a shot which was saved by goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
Wanting the blame, Wanyama had to receive some care off the pitch. While CF Montreal was playing at 10, Reyes recovered a loose ball in the penalty area, following a corner kick, and he opened the scoring.
The visitors replied quickly, however, six minutes later. During a free kick, Bryce Duke lobbed the ball into the penalty area and George Campbell redirected it with a header to the other side. Waterman escaped Reyes’ cover and he hit the mark.
The Red Bulls waited only nine minutes before taking the lead. They built up a good game in the final third and Cristian Casseres Jr spotted Burke between the defenders in the penalty area. The latter got rid of Sirois and sent the ball into an empty net.
Waterman, who had tried to put Burke offside, was initially successful when the referee on the sidelines raised the flag. The video replay, however, reversed the decision to award the goal.
Despite several changes in the second half to create an attack, CF Montreal had very few chances against the tight defense of the Red Bulls.
