New York City FC saw their winning streak halted at home in a 1-0 loss to CF Montréal. Despite a fast start and several chances from Alonso Martínez, City couldn’t break through. Goalkeeper Matt Freese delivered key saves, but Prince Owusu’s second-half strike proved decisive on the night.
New York City FC 0 CF Montreal 1
Report by NYCFC.com
A fine evening in the Bronx awaited New York City FC as they hosted CF Montréal at Yankee Stadium.
City were keen to extend their winning run in MLS to three games, while Montréal were still searching for their first win of the regular season.
Head Coach Pascal Jansen handed a New York City FC debut to new signing Aidan O’Neill, fresh off his arrival from Standard de Liège late last month.
First Half
City started fast, and that saw Alonso Martínez register an early look at goal after three minutes—his shot from outside the box comfortably saved by Jonathan Sirois.
The Costa Rican came close to breaking the deadlock in the 15th minute after racing from inside his own half to fashion a 1v1 opportunity. Sirois did well to force Martínez wide before he fired his eventual effort off target.
In the 22nd minute, Freese produced a fantastic stop to deny Giacomo Vrioni after the striker powered a header toward goal.
The visitors came close again when Prince Owusu picked the pocket of Justin Haak and got a shot off that Freese did well to block—Thiago Martins clearing the ball from danger.
Vrioni then broke the offside trap with a run in behind down City’s left. After cutting inside, he got off a fierce strike that required a good save from Freese.
Second Half
The start of the second period saw two changes for City as Mitja Ilenič and Agustín Ojeda replaced Tayvon Gray and Andrés Perea.
City fell behind minutes into the half after Owusu drove inside and fired a shot through two defenders and past Freese.
It was almost two minutes later when a mishit cross from Nathan Saliba looped over Freese and crashed against the crossbar.
In response, a good run down the left from Ojeda allowed him to send in a dangerous low cross that skidded through the six-yard box.
Jansen made his second set of changes just after the hour mark as Strahinja Tanasijević and Hannes Wolf replaced O’Neill and Julián Fernández.
A final change of the night saw Mounsef Bakrar replace Nico Cavallo as City pushed hard for an equalizer. City continued to press for a way back into the game, but standing in their way was a compact and dogged Montréal side.
Next Game For New York City FC
The Boys in Blue head to the nation’s capital for a midweek clash against D.C. United on Wednesday, May 14, at 7:30pm ET. | Apple TV: MLS Season Pass | Radio (English/Spanish) newyorkcityfc.com/radio