FRISCO, Texas - In its first trip to North Texas in just under four years, CF Montréal secured its first win of the 2024 season with a 2-1 victory over FC Dallas on Saturday evening at Toyota Stadium.
Jules-Anthony Vilsaint scored the Club's first goal of the year with a shot from the top of the box in the 20th minute before FC Dallas striker Petar Musa tied the game in the 45th minute.
However, Josef Martínez, the Club's latest attacking signing, broke the deadlock with his first goal of the season in the 60th minute to give the visitors the win, their first ever in Frisco.
The Bleu-blanc-noir will be back in Montreal this week for training before heading to South Florida for their next match against Inter Miami CF on Sunday March 10 at Chase Stadium at 6pm EST.
COMPLETE SUMMARY HERE
MATCH NOTES
-Head coach Laurent Courtois earned his first career MLS victory. He becomes the Club's fourth head coach to go unbeaten in his first two games.
-Josef Martínez collected the 27th winning goal of his career. He is now tied for tenth with Canada's Dwayne DeRosario in the all-time MLS scoring charts for game-winning goals. It was also his 106th career goal and fifth against Dallas.
-Midfielder Samuel Piette played his 180th game across all competitions with the Club.
-Defender Gabriele Corbo made his 40th MLS start.
-Forward Matías Cóccaro collected his first MLS assist.
LAURENT COURTOIS
“I liked the way the guys kept their composure tonight, aware of what they can be confident about. It's hard enough to repeat last week's positives. You can learn a lot from a group when the going gets tough. We conceded the equalizer and lost a few players. How were we going to react? The lads stayed the course. I hope we can reproduce that in difficult moments this season. They showed character.”
JULES-ANTHONY VILSAINT
“I think I've always been opportunistic, knowing how to stay focused, choosing my moment and giving everything for the team. We knew we deserved the win in Orlando. The draw was good, but we know that with the chances we had, we should have finished them off. Tonight we told ourselves that we definitely had to finish our chances. I grew up playing as a 10. I've always said that. So, wherever the coach needs me to play, I'll be ready. Thanks to my performance today, I showed him that I can play anywhere on the pitch.”
JOSEF MARTÍNEZ
“This is a group. I came here to help it. Everyone wants to play but we will win and lose together. We earned three points tonight in a difficult stadium against a difficult team and now we get to come back home. The system we play is not new to me because I’ve played in it before. But no matter who plays, they need to be ready when they get the call.”
