MONTREAL — In late August, CF Montreal suffered back-to-back crushing defeats and was dangerously close to the Eastern Conference basement.
Seven weeks later, Montreal is riding a run of five wins in seven games and heading to the MLS playoffs.
"It feels really good,” captain Samuel Piette said. “We're on a great run.”
Caden Clark scored a goal and set up another as Montreal defeated New York City FC 2-0 on Saturday, clinching a post-season berth and completing the impressive turnaround on the final matchday of the regular season.
"Of course, there were doubts," Piette said, referencing the 5-0 home loss to the New England Revolution and 4-1 road defeat to FC Cincinnati. "After games like that, you start to have some doubts and think it’s going to be a bit difficult to climb back up, but we always believed we had the pieces in our squad.”
Josef Martinez also scored with Montreal (11-13-10) needing at least a draw in the Decision Day matchup to guarantee its spot in front of 19,619 fans.
Montreal climbed to eighth in the East and will host Atlanta United in Tuesday's wild-card game. The winner will take on Lionel Messi and first-place Inter Miami CF — who produced a single-season MLS points record — in the first round.
The late-season U-turn under first-year head coach Laurent Courtois happened after a tumultuous campaign that also featured a nine-game winless run, the reported trade demand of since-departed team MVP Mathieu Choinière and the exit of sporting officer Olivier Renard.
The influx of players such as Clark in the summer transfer window, Martinez finding his scoring touch and, according to Piette, a team go-kart outing helped turn the tide.
"After that 4-1 loss at Cincinnati, we had a lot of meetings, both individually and as a group. And of course, there was the go-karting episode,” Piette said. “Honestly, the go-karting paid off.”
"The guys got to let loose a little and see that we have good friends in the locker room off the field too, on a human level,” he added. “It means that on the field, you might push yourself a bit more and fight harder for that guy.
"That's what I think we rediscovered — fighting for each other. What we saw tonight, the team we saw tonight, perfectly reflects that feeling."
Courtois’s squad was one point from the Eastern Conference basement in early September before a five-game unbeaten run propelled it back into the post-season picture.
"I don't know (what changed) because I did the same thing,” Courtois said. “I speak less, maybe that helped. Maybe. Caden Clark was huge, Josef at that level was huge.
“It's everybody raising their level, the new guys adding some fresh blood. And of course, what Josef did for us last few months is really, really class."
Martinez, a league MVP in 2018, has six goals in his last five matches. The 21-year-old Clark, acquired from Minnesota United for US$50,000, has four goals and four assists in his last seven.
NYCFC (14-12-8) dropped to sixth in the East and will kick off its playoff campaign on the road against FC Cincinnati.
A year ago, Montreal fell 2-1 to the Columbus Crew on Decision Day. The team gathered on the touchline around an iPad to watch the New York Red Bulls beat Nashville SC 1-0 with a stoppage-time penalty that crushed Montreal’s post-season hopes.
On Saturday, Montreal jumped out to a 2-0 first-half lead despite a shaky start to the match.
Centre back Joel Waterman, who moved up into central midfield with Nathan Saliba out for yellow-card accumulation, gifted the ball to NYCFC’s Keaton Parks at the top of the box in the 13th minute. Parks, however, shot the ball wide.
Minutes later, NYCFC continued to press for a goal and Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois leapt for a huge save on Tayvon Gray’s volley.
Clark opened the scoring in the 18th when Bryce Duke sent a ball into the box for Martinez, who played decoy and let the ball roll to his trailing teammate for a beautiful goal.
Clark and Martinez then linked up in first-half stoppage time to make it 2-0. With NYCFC appearing to wait for the halftime whistle, Clark chased the ball down the left flank and fought off a defender for a relentless individual effort. He then delivered a pass into the six-yard box for Martinez to cleanly tip home.
Montreal exorcised some demons in the process, winning its third game against NYCFC in 21 meetings and the first since July 7, 2021.
“We're hitting stride at the right time,” Waterman said. “You want to play well the last five, six, seven games before playoffs come around. We have that momentum. Our forwards are scoring, our midfielders are running, our defenders are keeping clean sheets. Jo's doing a fantastic job back there, too.
"It's a collective effort and we're gonna keep riding this momentum into Tuesday, and then hopefully get a shot at Miami."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2024.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
