MONTREAL, Quebec – FC Montreal is coming back home this Saturday to play the Richmond Kickers at 2:30pm, on the synthetic turf at Stade Saputo.
Last weekend, Montreal’s team lost 2-1 in its first away game, against the Harrisburg City Islanders. Conditions were difficult for the Bleu-blanc-noir as defender Mitchel Bringolf was shown a red card in the 9th minute and two penalties were given to the other team in the game.
FC Montreal will have to be more disciplined to get a positive result as defender Franck Zoue also got a red card in the previous game against Rochester.
“It’s not really a lack of discipline in the conduct, it’s more in the tactical plays where we have to be in the right place at the right time,” says defender John Dinkota. “In the end, we are late on the play. It’s adjustments we are aware of and with the coaches, we are working to correct these mistakes.”
“It’s two cards being the last defender, so it’s not really a lack of discipline,” explains head coach Philippe Eullaffroy. “There are things to correct before we find ourselves in this situation. This is where we need to fix the problem.”
If there is one positive aspect, it’s that last game the Bleu-blanc-noir found the back of the net for the first time in USL. Louis Béland-Goyette scored FC Montreal’s first ever goal in the first half against Harrisburg last Saturday.
“We provoke more, we go one-on-one in the last 25 metres and that’s what we’ve been asking the players to do,” said Philippe Eullaffroy. “Now, it’s is not an attitude that changes over night. We have to keep working on this, but we already see a change in this area. It’s better.”
“With 10 players, we had to defend, it was harder to outnumber them in their zone,” explains winger Victor Omar Ndiaye. “We still had a few chances. Good things will come.”
For the Richmond Kickers, they had an excellent start this season, with three wins in their last three games, for a record of 3-0-2, at the top of the Eastern Conference. They are undefeated and have no problem finding the back of the net, with an average of two goals scored per game so far.
FC Montreal will get some help from the first team, as some players should be made available for the game.
“It brings a lot of quality, maturity and experience,” says Philippe Eullaffroy. “For these players, it will give them playing time, rhythm and a good environment. It benefits everyone. We know that first team players coming with us for practices or games are really involved, it will definitely benefit us.”
Admission is free for everyone and the game will be streamed live at www.impactmontreal.com/fcmontreal.
FC Montreal will play its next game on May 2, at 4pm, against the Rochester Rhinos, on the synthetic turf at Stade Saputo.
