COMMERCE CITY, Colorado – CF Montréal fell 4-1 to the Colorado Rapids on Saturday evening at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
Calvin Harris gave the Rapids the lead in the 28th minute when he redirected his own rebound following a Jonathan Sirois save.
Harris then completed his brace just before the break (45') to double his side's lead, connecting on a Djordje Mihailovic pass.
Montreal then managed to cut the deficit in half thanks to a cross from Sunusi Ibrahim that led to an own goal from Lalas Aboubakar (53').
However, the Rapids converted a late penalty via Mihailovic (90'), before Rafael Navarro scored Colorado’s fourth goal of the match in stoppage time.
CF Montréal will be back at Stade Saputo to host Philadelphia Union next Saturday at 7:30pm (MLS Season Pass, BPM Sports, TSN 690).
COMPLETE SUMMARY **HERE**
MATCH NOTES:
-Mahala Opoku and Mason Toye both earned their 50th MLS start, while Jonathan Sirois made his 50th MLS start for CF Montréal.
-George Campbell surpassed the 5,000-minute mark in MLS.
-Coming off the bench, Lassi Lappalainen also reached the 5,000 MLS minutes milestone, all with CF Montréal.
LAURENT COURTOIS
“The players were not tired. We lacked the collective personality to play our game both in defense and attack. We didn't do what we wanted to do. The little we tried was too timid and poor in quality. I can't explain the first half. The lack of discipline on set pieces was also difficult. I hope the players will be more accountable for their individual actions in future. I can't explain why we had two such different performances between each half. Why one player performs well and another completely misses the mark. I find it hard to explain so many discrepancies in performances.”
JONATHAN SIROIS
“It is difficult to explain tonight. We can all be disappointed. We gave the Rapids too much respect. We weren't aggressive enough. Too often they managed to get into our defensive third. We reacted well after the break, but it's a shame. We started with a formation where Nathan was lower and Bryce was higher up the pitch, thinking that would give our wide players more time, but Colorado adapted well to our tactics. It became difficult to link up with our forwards. So we opted for direct play. It was difficult to get out of our half. They didn't press us as much in the second half, which may explain why we were more successful. From a collective point of view, we all need to assume our responsibilities and know our roles when it comes to free-kicks.”
NATHAN SALIBA
“At half-time we rectified a few details. We understood Colorado's game. In the first 20 minutes of the second half, we gave nothing away. But we had to make the most of our half chances. We had to grab that second goal. Mihailovic found his teammates well between the lines. As soon as they were able to combine, they made the difference. We need to do better on our side and reduce the space between the lines.”
