Atlanta United eliminates CF Montreal during the elimination match of the Association Est

Le CF Montréal can be said that there was nothing left on the table, but the shootout session that he tried so hard to force despite all his efforts at the end of his season.

During the fifth round of shooting, Saba Lobjanidze closed the books to help Atlanta United defeat the Bleu-blanc-noir during the elimination match of the Eastern Association, Tuesday evening, at the Saputo stadium.

After erasing a two-goal deficit in the second half to equalize 2-2, Laurent Courtois’ men had the wind in their sails. Plus nothing seemed to stop them… except the dial. The efforts were not lacking, but their momentum was slowed at the end of the eight minutes added during stoppage time in the second half.

At this moment, everything has been left in the hands of a “pile ou face”. A shootout session where the victory can go “d’un côté comme de l’autre”.

In the official statistics, it is Lobjanidze who played the heroes when he cheated the vigilance of Jonathan Sirois du côte droit. In the facts, it was the stop by goalkeeper Brad Guzan at the expense of Tom Pearce, during the second round of shots, that finally made the difference.

Pearce, who set the table for the first goal of CF Montréal and who was frustrated by Guzan during a free kick near the penalty area, is once more buté to the 40-year-old veteran in tempting de le déjouer vers sa gauche.

“We knew that we had already been there. We were ready to make the decisions that were imposed, declared Atlanta United’s interim head coach, Rob Valentino, about the meeting. Brad was good throughout the season on shots, and I appreciated that the players showed solidarity. You regardiez les gars sur le terrain, they were united all the time. »

Avant Lobjanidze, Dax McCarty, Daniel Rios, Aleksey Miranchuk and Derrick Williams all beat Sirois for the visitors.

If confidence was good in the field of Atlanta, it was also among the Montrealers. Josef Martinez, Nathan Saliba, Gabriele Corbo and Jules-Anthony Vilsaint scored in shootouts to keep hopes alive.

“Nous avons donné la liberté aux joueurs de savoir dans quel order ils allaient tirer.” Afterwards, they talked to each other and encouraged each other. They knew what they had to do and there was no need to hold back. But of course losing in a shootout is cruel,” admitted Courtois.

Cruel is the right word. Le Bleu-blanc-noir practically gave nothing to its opponents in the first half, but two lacks of coverage led to the successes of Brooks Lennon and Stian Gregersen.

After a slow start to the second decade, CF Montreal beat Atlanta United to equalize thanks to two goals from Martinez, who faces the team with which he brought the MLS Cup to him in 2018.

“We are disappointed because we had a beau coup à jouer. We are in control throughout the match, except for two occasions in the first half. We feel that we could pass, said Captain Samuel Piette. We have shown a lot of character and this coincidence represents the last few weeks, in the uncovered course, we have responded to the difficult moments. C’est crève-coeur, mais j’aime mieux to go out in shootouts than to lose without returning au pointage. »

Piette made reference to the 5-1-1 record that the Montrealers showed to close the season and rise to the eighth rank in the East. Even if this defeat in the eliminatoire match is bad, it shows something that the team can offer when it puts all its talent and all its intensity.

“It’s a disappointment to lose like this, but the pride and the certainty of having shown in their dernier match how they wanted to be recognized and perceived”, expressed Courtois.

Georgie’s formation will now meet Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF during the first elimination round. This deux de trois series begins on Friday at Chase Stadium.

A ton of twists and turns

Atlanta United is the place to play in the debut of the match, but the Bleu-blanc-noir calmly imposed the pace to get closer to Guzan’s net.

In the seventh minute, Martinez made the partisans rise from their seats thanks to a long and powerful strike from the left foot, but the ball missed the skylight by a few feet.

CF Montréal continues to have a chance in the repair area, thanks to Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty and Bryce Duke. The shot that came closest to hitting the target was, however, that of Saliba, who saw the ball miss the crossbar by a few inches, at 24^e minute

The missed opportunities are places for the Montrealers moments later. The visitors maintained possession of the ball for two minutes and put their opponents to sleep, until Pedro Amador joined Lennon on the right for the first goal of the match.

The Montreal team tried to wake up their supporters, but Atlanta United delivered a hard blow before halftime. During a free kick at 44^e minute, Miranchuk crossed the ball in front of Fernando Alvarez and Gregersen redirected it with his head into the net.

Le Bleu-blanc-noir a mis du temps à se mettre en marche au retour du vestiaire et Sirois a dû se signaler. Le Québécois has made some stops, not an important one at the expense of Lobjanidze, which can change the look of the game.

After three changes made by Courtois, CF Montreal at the exit of the last enemy levels. The club had several opportunities to score, but the door was opened by a miscue by Guzan.

The veteran guard parried a cross from Pearce in the 63rd^e minute, and Martinez jumped on the free ball to reduce the gap to 2-1.

Atlanta’s defensive line hung in the balance for the next 20 minutes, plus every center and every offensive attack by CF Montreal was free. Ce fut but partie remise at 85^e minute

Lennon committed a foul on Kwadwo Opoku, giving the Bleu-blanc-noir a penalty. Martinez, qui d’autre, came to create the égalité thanks to a precise shot at the top of the net.

The shootout was necessary after a last push by the local team.

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