CF Montreal defender Aaron Herrera kicks the ball against FC Cincinnati during the second half at TQL Stadium. Cincinnati won 3-0 on May 17, 2023.Katie Stratman/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
An own-goal by Joel Waterman in the second minute of play provided the spark, leading FC Cincinnati to a 3-0 victory over CF Montreal on Wednesday night.
Luciano Acosta stretched the lead to 2-0 with his third goal of the season – unassisted in the 26th minute.
Brandon Vazquez then added his third goal of the season – with an assist from Obinna Nwobodo – to give Cincinnati a three-goal lead in the 65th minute.
“We start by giving them a goal from a set piece after one minute. When you give up a goal like that at the start of the game, it’s a completely different game,” said Montreal head coach Hernan Losada. “It’s a shame because we were well prepared. We came here with the right mentality.
“Even at halftime, the game was not over. We made three changes to be able to get back in the game because at 2-0 everything is still possible. But after the third, the game was over and we started to think a lot more about Saturday’s game.”
Montreal (5-7-0) saw its six-match win streak in all competitions – its longest since joining the league in 2012 – come to an end.
The victory moves Cincinnati (8-1-3) three points ahead of the idle New England Revolution atop the Eastern Conference standings.
Cincinnati snaps a three-game losing streak to Montreal and evens the all-time series at three wins apiece. Cincinnati entered play unbeaten at home with six one-goal victories – the first team in league history to do so.
Cincinnati is the sixth team in league history to win its first seven home matches. The Philadelphia Union did it most recently – winning nine in a row in 2020.
Cincinnati had a 14-10 advantage in shots, but Montreal had a 5-4 edge in shots on target.
Roman Celentano finished with five saves to earn the clean sheet for Cincinnati. Jonathan Sirois stopped two shots for Montreal.
Cincinnati will host the Columbus Crew on Saturday. Montreal travels to play the New York Red Bulls on Saturday.