Montreal Finds Silver Lining in 1-1 Draw with Columbus
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By Kaus Pandey
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Summary:
- Luca Petrasso scored his first MLS goal as Montreal held third-place Columbus to a 1-1 draw.
- Russell-Rowe equalized after a defensive miscue, but Sirois prevented a late loss with a key save.
- Coach Donadel sees the result as a sign of progress despite frustration in the locker room.
Despite a frustrating 1-1 draw at home against the high-flying Columbus Crew, CF Montreal interim head coach Marco Donadel has chosen to focus on the positives.
Coming off their first win of a tough MLS season so far last weekend, Montreal hoped they would build momentum.
For a while, things looked good for them, as Luca Petrasso scored a beautiful opener in the 29th minute, his first-ever goal in Major League Soccer, causing the home crowd at Stade Saputo to come alive.
Coach Donadel: “It Means That We Are Building Something.
Everybody was super, super, super sad in the locker, and we tied against Columbus, which is the best or one of the best teams in the league. It means that we are building something.
The draw came against a Columbus side sitting third in the Eastern Conference, led by former Montreal boss Wilfried Nancy.
The Crew were without some key players, including leading scorer Diego Rossi, but still managed to equalize through Canadian international Jacen Russell-Rowe in the 63rd minute.
Nathan Saliba: “It’s a Match We Could Have Eon”
Petrasso, who’s quickly becoming a staple in Montreal’s back line, echoed his coach’s sentiment.
We know Columbus is one of the best teams in the league, if not the best team in the league. Obviously we have to learn and get better at closing out games like that, especially at home.
Still, not everyone was satisfied with a point.
Nathan Saliba said
We know it’s a match we could have won. We know we have to win matches like that, so yeah, I wouldn’t say that we’re happy with the point.
Montreal’s goal came from a lovely buildup, as Fabian Herbers delivered a cross from the right, Caden Clark let it run, and Prince Owusu cleverly back-heeled it to Petrasso, who finished confidently.
Luca Petrasso reflected,
Special moment for sure, kind of had those dreams or pictures in my mind, scoring a goal like that
Russell-Rowe’s equalizer came after a costly error by Dawid Bugaj, though Donadel defended his young right back.
The interim head coach spoke about the “10 mistakes” that he noticed, including the lack of reaction of the centre back, the tackle on the keeper, and their inability to arrive first on the ball.
Despite being outshot 14-4 and giving up 58% possession, Montreal nearly stole it late. Jonathan Sirois made a highlight-reel save in the 82nd minute to preserve the draw.
Up next, Montreal will host Toronto FC on Saturday in a heated Canadian rivalry, while Columbus is getting ready to welcome FC Cincinnati.
