HARRISON, New Jersey – In its first afternoon match of the season, CF Montréal fell 1-0 to the New York Red Bulls on Saturday at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
After a scoreless first half, the Red Bulls took the lead in the 67th minute with Noah Eile's header from a corner. The goal ended a 231-minute stretch without conceding for interim head coach Marco Donadel's men.
The Bleu-blanc-noir return to action on Wednesday against rivals Toronto FC in the first round of the TELUS Canadian Championship at BMO Field at 7pm EDT. To conclude its series of three games in eight days, CF Montréal will host the Philadelphia Union at Stade Saputo next Saturday at 7:30pm EDT.
GAME SUMMARY **HERE**
GAME NOTES
-Goalkeeper Sébastian Breza earned his first start of the season.
-Forward Owen Graham-Roache played his first minutes with CF Montréal first team.
Post-match comments from interim head coach Marco Donadel, Samuel Piette and Sébastian Breza are available **HERE**.
MARCO DONADEL
“We started this game well. We had our chances against a very good team. Like in the last two, three games, we had our chances but we were missing that last play. We are lacking confidence but we are creating something. If we didn't create any chances, if we were playing for 90 minutes without any idea about what to do, it would be worse. We need to keep believing and we don't have too much time to talk about this game, about the good and the bad, because we play Toronto in four days.”
SAMUEL PIETTE
“Even with an average performance, we stayed in the game and it ended 1-0 from a set piece. At the end, we were pushing and we could have potentially gone for that goal. We need to do more. I think we were very solid defensively, as we've been for most of the last few games, but offensively it just didn't click. I think we can do a lot better in that area. I think the message is clear. We need to look at ourselves in the mirror. I think that Marco Donadel and his staff are doing a great job in preparing us for these games, but we all need to raise our game another notch so that we can do better collectively.”
SÉBASTIAN BREZA
“Of course, it's necessary to give 100% every day to achieve a goal. We have to be able to have that cohesion, to look at ourselves in the mirror, each and every one of us, but also to be able to look at the other person next to us and tell ourselves that we're playing a team sport and that we're going to get there together. If we can do that, I think we can do something special.”