HARRISON, NJ – FC Montreal gave up two goals in the second half, falling 3-2 to the New York Red Bulls 2 Sunday evening, at Red Bull Arena.
New York opened the scoring early, when Derrick Etienne beat defender John Dinkota on the left side of goal, before passing the ball to Anatole Abang in front of the net, who simply pushed it across the goal line in the 13th minute.
Montreal equalised right away. After a long clearance, Impact forward Romario Williams deflected the ball behind him with his head. The Red Bulls goalkeeper came charging out of his net, but winger Frédéric Lajoie-Gravelle beat him to the loose ball before finding himself in front of an open goal to make it 1-1 in the 21tst minute.
In the 48th minute, Shawn McLaws pushed forward down the right flank, before passing into the box. Unfortunately, FC Montreal defender Zachary Sukunda redirected the ball into his own net while attempting to intercept the pass.
In the 68th minute, Etienne added one for New York, a one-timer from inside the box on a cross by Anthony Wallace.
At the end of the game, the Bleu-blanc-noir tried everything to get a result. Winger Alessandro Riggi was all alone facing the keeper after a through ball by midfielder Zakaria Messoudi. He chipped the ball in the 81st minute to bring his team back to within one goal.
“We fought until the end,” said midfielder Marco Dominguez. “The substitutes performed well to help us stay in the game by scoring the second goal.”
Unfortunately, FC Montreal wasn’t able to find a third. In stoppage time, midfielder Nazim Belguendouz was shown a red card.
“It was the best team we played against since the beginning of the season,” said head coach Philippe Eullaffroy. “It was a really good soccer game. Despite the loss, we remain positive because we kept respecting our principles until the end.”
The next FC Montreal game will be played away against the Rochester Rhinos on Saturday, May 30, at 7:05pm at Sahlen’s Stadium.
LINEUPS
FC Montreal: Maxime Crépeau, Zachary Sukunda, Mélé Temguia, Chakib Hocine, John Dinkota, Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé, Marco Dominguez, Philippe Lincourt-Joseph, Fabio Morelli, Frédéric Lajoie-Gravelle, Romario Williams
Montreal Impact Players
New York Red Bulls 2: Kyle Reynish, Shawn McLaws, Andrew Jean-Baptise, Michael da Fonte, Anthony Wallace, Tyler Adams, Leo Stolz, Marius Obekop (Bolu Akinyode 70’), Derrick Etienne (Daniel Bedoya 72’), Anatole Abang (Chris Tsonis 46’), Manolo Sanchez
GOALS
NY: Anatole Abang 13’
MTL: Frédéric Lajoie-Gravelle 21’
NY: Zachary Sukunda (OG) 48’
NY: Derrick Etienne 68’
MTL: Alessandro Riggi 81’
CAUTIONS
MTL: Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé 35’
MTL: Mélé Temguia 48’
NY: Daniel Bedoya 90’
NY: Andrew Jean-Baptiste 90’
EJECTION
MTL: Nazim Belguendouz 90’
