Decision Day at Stade Saputo
The final game of the season is finally here, and it’s a big one. Montreal takes on Orlando City SC at Stade Saputo, this Sunday at 3:30pm, on Decision Day in MLS.
The stakes are enormous for both these teams. Montreal needs to win to quality to the playoffs. As simple as that. A loss or a tie against Orlando will simply not be good enough. Orlando faces a similar faith. Win, and they’re in. A loss or tie wouldn’t eliminate the Florida side, but their faith would be put in the hands of the New York Red Bulls, who take on Nashville FC.
In a best-case scenario, Montreal could finish as high as fifth in the Eastern Conference, but Atlanta and New York would both have to lose their games for that to happen.
“It will be a decisive game for one of these two teams,” said assistant coach Laurent Ciman. “There’s going to a lot of tension, lots of duels, and a lot of contact. The details will be super important. Set pieces, whether on our end or on their end, will be crucial. We need to be ready to start the game like we did against Houston. We need to show them that we’re at home and we want this result.”
This is the third meeting between these two sides this year, Montreal taking the first contest 4-2 at Exploria Stadium before playing to a draw three weeks ago in Florida again. Nani, Pato, and their men will be eager to avenge their lacklustre results at home against the Montreal side with a big result on Decision Day, but it won’t be easy. Montreal has a record of six wins, two draws, and two losses at Stade Saputo this year.
Djordje Mihailovic added an assist against the Houston Dynamo in the team’s last win, bringing him to 16 on the season, two behind league-leader Carles Gil. He has five assists in eight games played against Orlando, while striker Romell Quioto, who made his return from injury in our last game, has two goals and three assists in four games played against the Florida side.
“We’re all really excited for this game,” said midfielder Mathieu Choinière. “We know what we need to do and that it’s up to us. If we win, we make the playoffs. We can’t wait to play this game and see the result at the end. We hope it’s a good one because we’ve worked hard all year and we deserve this.”
Montreal also has the Canadian Championship final on the horizon, set to be played against Toronto FC. The date, time, and venue for this final has not yet been announced by Canada Soccer.
