MLS: for Samuel Piette, CF Montreal lost two more points than gained one point on Saturday

MONTREAL – CF Montreal did some good things in their first two games of the 2021 MLS regular schedule. But the 2-2 draw against Nashville SC on Saturday afternoon at Nissan Stadium also demonstrated that the team’s progress will still require a lot of work and patience.

A week after their great victory against Toronto FC, Wilfried Nancy’s men had the chance to start the regular season with a 2-0 record for the first time since 2016.

After 45 minutes of play and with a 2-0 lead, after a strong start to the game, it was certainly possible to believe it. Except that the Montreal team had all the difficulties in the world to resist the repeated assaults of Nashville SC during the first 30 minutes or so of the second half, even if Nancy and her players knew how their rivals were going to attack them.

In the end, CF Montreal added a point in the standings, a lot thanks to the performance of goalkeeper Clément Diop. A point that, as Samuel Piette mentioned during his post-game videoconference, may be the one that allows the team to make the playoffs in the fall.

That doesn’t mean Piette wasn’t disappointed.

“I’ll be honest with you; the feeling that we have at the moment, it is more for us two points lost with a lead of 2-0 at half-time. Of course we are not celebrating in the locker room. I think it’s a good thing to see the state of mind of the players and the team. We are not satisfied with one point, ”said Piette.

“We always say in this league that we have to win our games at home and not lose away,” added the CF Montreal midfielder. “So this is mission accomplished for us. But the feeling we have is more than two points lost than anything else. « 

For her part, Nancy praised the attitude of her players, especially during times of tension in their territory.

« I am very proud of the team, I found the team resilient because we have been cornered, cornered, cornered, cornered, cornered, » he analyzed using the same word five times.

“We knew very well that if we started backing up and defended close to our penalty area, it was going to be difficult. What I liked is that the players did not give up in the difficulty. They really didn’t give up. « 

That resilience and tenacity will undoubtedly be put to the test once again next Saturday against MLS Cup monarchs, the Columbus Crew.