MONTREAL – FC Montreal won 4-1 on Wednesday night against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds at the Claude-Robillard Sports Complex.
Alessandro Riggi, Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla, Anthony Jackson-Hamel and Nevello Yoseke scored for Montreal while Corey Hertzog provided the reply for Pittsburgh.
In the first minute of the game, Tabla passed to Riggi in front of the box. The winger dribbled forward before beating goalkeeper Mauricio Vargas with a strong left foot shot into the right corner.
The locals added a second right after. Midfielder Marco Dominguez sent a deep pass to Tabla in the box, who beat the defender with his first touch, before beating Vargas with a low shot on the left side in the 11th minute.
In the 26th minute, Tabla sent the ball behind the opposing defenders for Jackson-Hamel, who dribbled past the goalkeeper before scoring from a narrow angle in an empty net.
The Riverhounds responded in the 41st minute, a few instants beforegoing back to the locker room. Corey Hertzog took advantage of a bad back pass to dribble past goalkeeper David Paulmin and make it 3-1.
In the 62nd minute, on a corner kick, Yoseke sent his header right on the crossbar. He scored on his second chance in the 75th minute when he found himself alone in the box with the ball, beating Vargas with a shot between his legs.
“There’s a certain logic, as we were finally able to play with a balanced XI with players that are specialists in their respective role,” said head coach Philippe Eullaffroy. “There is movement, we play with one or two touches and that’s when we’re good.”
“It feels good. We saw that we were good on the last three or four home games, but we were losing on a mistake,” said Alessandro Riggi. “The three together [Tabla and Jackson-Hamel], we are all on the same page, we help each other, it goes really quick and we love it. We also do it for Philippe [Eullaffroy] who deserves more wins this season. When we’re all together, we can win games.”
FC Montreal will play its next game in Charleston against the Battery on Saturday, August 13, at 7:30pm, at the MUSC Health Stadium.
LINEUPS
FC Montreal: David Paulmin; Aron Mkungilwa (Zachary Sukunda 87’), Thomas Meilleur-Giguère, Kyle Fisher, Janouk Charbonneau; Marco Dominguez (Nevello Yoseke 56’), Fabrice Mbvouvouma, Alessandro Riggi (Philippe Lincourt-Joseph 60’), Mastanabal Kacher, Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla (Pierre Lamothe 79’); Anthony Jackson-Hamel (Heikel Jarras 66’)
Subs not used: Luca Leone, Jems Geffrard,
*MLS players
Pittsburgh Riverhounds: Mauricio Vargas; Marshall Hollingsworth (Jack Thompson 80’), William Hunt, Ryan Adeleye, Chad Berson; Danny Earls, Rodrigo Saravia, Christian Martinez (Zak Boggs 80’), Duwayne Ewart (Nick Thompson 46’); Stephen Okai (Alejandro Aguilar 82’), Corey Hertzog
Subs not used: Hunter Gilstrap, Sergio Campbell, Nicholas Kolarac
GOALS
MTL: Alessandro Riggi 1’
MTL: Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla 11’
MTL: Anthony Jackson-Hamel 26’
PGH: Corey Hertzog 41’
MTL: Nevello Yoseke 75’
CAUTIONS
MTL: Marco Dominguez 38’
MTL: Aron Mkungilwa 42’
PGH: Sergio Campbell 73’
EJECTION
PGH: Chad Barson 78’
