SAINT LOUIS, MO – FC Montreal scored three goals in the second half to end their three game s in eight days road trip with seven points, winning 3-1 over Saint Louis FC at the World Wide Technology Soccer Park Saturday night.
“We were not satisfied with the way the first half went,” explained head coach Philippe Eullaffroy. “We lacked pace and play in the offensive zone. The message was to change the pace and attack more. Afterwards, we kept defending well. The play was more interesting in the second half.”
In the 53rd minute, midfielder Marco Dominguez sent the ball forward, finding Louis Béland-Goyette, who in turn, found Jacques Haman. The Cameroon native controlled the ball and took a low shot from 25 yards to beat goalkeeper Alec Kann to his right.
After many substitutions, FC Montreal added two goals. After intercepting the ball in the offensive zone, winger Victor Omar Ndiaye dribbled into the box before passing to Fabio Morelli near the penalty spot. The winger took a quick shot and made it 2-0 in the 85th minute. Two minutes later, Yacine Ait Slimane got the ball deep on a clearance from defender Janouk Charbonneau. Facing the keeper, he dribbled passed him before shooting into an empty net.
Saint Louis scored a goal at the end of the game as Jamiel Hardware beat goalkeeper David Paulmin from a header on a corner kick in the 89th minute.
The Montreal goalkeeper made a number of saves in the game. In the 26th minute, he came out of his box to face forward Jordan Roberts, blocking his shot. The defence also put in a lot of work, blocking a number of crosses.
“Soccer is a team sport, where everyone has their role,” added Eullaffroy. “Everyone is contributing right now and it gives energy to the group. We are all on the same page.”
“At the beginning of the trip, we discussed with the group to see how many points we would bring back home,” said winger Fabio Morelli. “Seven is really good.”
FC Montreal will play its next game against Toronto FC II on Wednesday, August 12, at 12:30pm on the synthetic field at Stade Saputo.
LINEUPS
FC Montréal: David Paulmin; Zachary Sukunda (Aron Mkungilwa 78’), Jonathan Grant, Mitchel Bringolf, Janouk Charbonneau; Macro Dominguez (Zakaria Messoudi 74’), Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé, Frédéric Lajoie-Gravelle (Fabio Morelli 81’), Louis Béland-Goyette, Alessandro Riggi (Yacine Ait Slimane 63’); Jacques Haman (Victor Omar Ndiaye 76’)
Subs not used: Maxime Crépeau, Mélé Temguia,
Saint Louis FC: Alec Kann; James Musa, Sam Fink, Nick Bibbs, Patrick Doody; Parker Maher (Kingsley Bryce 62’), Bryan Gaul, Jacob Bushue, Kentaro Takada (Brian Ciesulka 68’); Mike Ambersley, Jordan Roberts (Jamiel Hardware 58’)
Subs not used: Mark Pais, Oskar Gasecki, Chad Vandegriffe, Peter Kelly
GOALS
MTL: Jacques Haman 53’
MTL: Fabio Morelli 85’
MTL: Yacine Ait Slimane 87’
STL: Jamiel Hardware 89’
CAUTIONS
MTL: Marco Dominguez 55’
STL: Bryan Gaul 82’
MTL: Victor Omar Ndiaye 84’
EJECTIONS
MTL: Aron Mkungilwa 92’
STL: Jacob Bushue 92’
STL: Nick Bibbs 92’
