CF Montreal can say that it left nothing on the table, but the shootout that it tried so hard to force nevertheless brought its season to a sudden end.
In the fifth wave of shooters, Saba Lobjanidze closed the books to help Atlanta United defeat the Bleu-blanc-noir in the Eastern Conference playoff game on Tuesday night at Saputo Stadium.
After erasing a two-goal deficit in the second half to tie the game at 2-2, Laurent Courtois’ men had the wind in their sails. Nothing seemed to stop them… except the clock. They made no shortage of effort, but their momentum slowed down after eight minutes added during stoppage time in the second half.
At that point, everything was put into the hands of a “heads or tails” – a shootout where victory could go “either way”.
In the official statistics, it was Lobjanidze who played the hero when he beat Jonathan Sirois on the right side. In reality, it was goaltender Brad Guzan’s save on Tom Pearce in the second round of shots that ultimately made the difference.
Pearce, who had set up CF Montreal’s first goal and was frustrated by Guzan on a free kick near the penalty area, once again came up against the 40-year-old veteran while trying to beat him to his left.
“We knew we’d been there before. We were prepared to make the decisions that had to be made,” Atlanta United interim head coach Rob Valentino said of the session. “Brad’s been good all season on penalties, and I liked the way the guys came together. You looked at the guys on the field, they were together the whole time.”
Before Lobjanidze, Dax McCarty, Daniel Rios, Aleksey Miranchuk and Derrick Williams beat Sirois for the visitors.
If confidence was high in Atlanta’s camp, it was also high in Montreal. Josef Martinez, Nathan Saliba, Gabriele Corbo and Jules-Anthony Vilsaint scored in the shootout to keep hopes alive.
“We gave the players the freedom to know in what order they were going to shoot. Afterwards, they talked to each other and encouraged each other. They knew what they had to do and they couldn’t back down. But it’s certain that losing in a shootout is cruel,” admitted Courtois.
Cruel is the right word. The Bleu-blanc-noir gave practically nothing to their opposite numbers during 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 half, CF Montreal manhandled Atlanta United to tie the game thanks to two goals from Martinez, who was facing the team with whom he won the MLS Cup in 2018.
“We’re disappointed because we had a good shot to play. We were in control the entire game, except for two chances in the first half. We felt like we could get through,” said captain Samuel Piette. “We showed a lot of character and this game represents the last few weeks, during which we were able to respond in difficult moments. It’s heartbreaking, but I’d rather go out in a shootout than lose without coming back into the game.”
Piette is referring to the 5-1-1 record Montreal put up to close out the season and climb into eighth place in the East. While that playoff loss hurts, it goes some way to showing what the team can deliver when it puts its talent and intensity into it.
“It’s a disappointment to lose like that, but the guys have the pride and the certainty of having shown in their last match how they wanted to be recognized and perceived,” said Courtois.
The Georgia team will now face Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF in the first round of the playoffs. This best-of-three series will begin on Friday at Chase Stadium.
A ton of twists and turns
Atlanta United came to play early in the match, but the Bleu-blanc-noir calmly imposed their rhythm to approach Guzan’s net.
In the seventh minute, Martinez had the fans on their feet with a long, powerful left-footed strike, but the ball missed the top corner by a few feet.
CF Montreal continued to try their luck in the penalty area, through Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty and Bryce Duke. The closest shot to hitting the target, however, was Saliba’s, who saw the ball miss the crossbar by inches, in the 24th minute .
The missed opportunities came back to haunt Montreal moments later. The visitors maintained possession for two minutes and put their opponents to sleep until Pedro Amador connected with Lennon on the right side for the first goal of the game.
Montreal tried to wake up its fans, but Atlanta United struck a blow before halftime. On a free kick in the 44th minute , Miranchuk centered the ball past Fernando Alvarez and Gregersen headed it into the net.
The Bleu-blanc-noir took a while to get going after the locker room and Sirois had to make his mark. The Quebecer made a few saves, including an important one at the expense of Lobjanidze, which may have changed the course of the match.
After three changes made by Courtois, CF Montreal stormed the enemy final third. The club had several chances to score, but they were denied by a Guzan scramble.
The veteran keeper fumbled a cross from Pearce in the 63rd minute and Martinez pounced on the loose ball to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
Atlanta’s defensive line struggled for the next 20 minutes, but every CF Montreal cross and attack was stopped. However, it was a postponed game in the 85th minute .
Lennon fouled Kwadwo Opoku, giving the Bleu-blanc-noir a penalty. Martinez, who else, came to equalize with a precise shot in the top of the net.
The penalty shootout was necessary after a final push by the home team.
Leave a Reply