CF Montreal midfielder Matko Miljevic slides on the turf as he battles Austin FC forward Cecilio Domínguez for the ball during first-half MLS action in Montreal on Saturday, June 18, 2022.Peter Mccabe/The Canadian Press
CF Montreal’s heavily rotated lineup fell 1-0 to a short-handed Austin FC at Stade Saputo on Saturday night.
This result continues Montreal’s poor form (7-6-2) while up a man, having been outscored 3-0 this season with a numerical advantage.
Former Montreal striker Maxi Urruti was Austin’s (8-4-3) lone goal scorer with a marker in the 67th minute.
The best word to describe the first half is prudent. Despite being amongst the most offensively minded teams in the league, both teams just traded short, meaningless stints of possession, hoping the other would slip up.
The best and only chance of the first half came right before the half hour mark through a Montreal corner. After a flick-on from Rudy Camacho, the ball fall to Kei Kamara who was all alone in front but wasn’t ready for it as the ball fell harmlessly into the hands of Austin keeper Brad Stuver.
It was more of the same following that chance with neither team making much headway until the end of the half. A sloppy and unnecessary tackle in the offensive third saw Daniel Perreira sent off for a second yellow, reducing Austin to 10 men.
Montreal came out in the second half looking to press that advantage, getting in behind the visitors’ back line. Another golden opportunity presented itself to Kamara after a low cross from Zachary Brault-Guillard left him with the simplest of tap-ins. However, once again, he couldn’t seem to put it away, letting Austin off the hook.
That miss would come back to haunt them only 15 minutes later when a perfect cross in from John Gallagher found Urruti, putting Austin up 1-0.
Montreal’s final chance at a late equalizer came with five minutes left during a mad scramble in the box, but a desperate Romell Quioto was unable to finish.
Montreal will now turn its attention to Toronto as it prepare for the semifinals of the Canadian Championship on June 22 while Austin returns home to host FC Dallas on June 25.