WILMINGTON, North Carolina – FC Montreal battled to a 0-0 tie Saturday night, against the Wilmington Hammerheads FC, at Legion Stadium.
Wilmington found the best chances in the first half. Just before halftime, defender Andrae Campbell dribbled down the left flank. Almost at the goal line, he passed back for Paul Nicholson, who put the ball on net, but goalkeeper David Paulmin stood his ground and made the save.
The Bleu-blanc-noir had its best opportunities come towards the end of the game.
Seeing he had no passing options, midfielder Marco Dominguez took a shot from long distance that hit the crossbar.
In the final seconds of the game, forward Jacques Haman took the opposite keeper by surprise with a long blast, forcing Andre Rawls to jump and push the ball out for a corner kick.
Montreal’s defence shut the door once again for a third clean sheet in its last four games on the road.
“It wasn’t a good first half,’’ said head coach Philippe Eullaffroy. “We were lucky to come back to the locker room with a 0-0 score. The second half was much more interesting with more plays going forward. In the end, we didn’t deserve more than a draw.”
“I think we lack speed in our offensive transition. We were not connected to the defensive block,’’ explained midfielder Zakaria Messoudi. “The fact that we had no shots on net in the first half reflects our game. We lacked intensity in the attacking zone. We were better in the second half.”
The next FC Montreal game will be played on Wednesday, August 26, at Stade Saputo at 6:30 pm, against the Charlotte Independence.
LINEUPS
FC Montreal: David Paulmin; Janouk Charbonneau, Mitchel Bringolf, Jonathan Grant, Zachary Sukunda; Marco Dominguez, Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé, Zakaria Messoudi (Louis Béland-Goyette 46’), Alessandro Riggi (Yacine Ait Slimane 79’), Frédéric Lajoie-Gravelle (Fabio Morelli 46’); Romario Williams (Jacques Haman 76’)
Subs not used: Yann-Alexandre Fillion, Mélé Temguia, Nevello Yoseke,
Hammerheads FC: Andre Rawls; Tom Parratt, Troy Cole, Fran Martinez, Andrae Campbell; Sunny Jane (Christian Bassogog 62’), Stefan Defregger, Paul Nicholson (Aaron Wheeler 76’), Brian Ackley; William Heaney (Zev Taublieb 84’), Qudus Lawal
Subs not used: Larry Jackson, Justin Moose, Cody Arnoux, Ross Tomaselli,
CAUTIONS
MTL: Romario Williams 45+
WIL: Paul Nicholson 68’
WIL: Tom Parratt 68’
MTL: Zachary Sukunda 90’
