By Canadian Press

CF Montréal hosts Orlando looking to increase unbeaten run to seven games

May 6, 2022 | 5:08 AM

MONTREAL — CF Montréal extended its Major League Soccer unbeaten run to six games following a dramatic win over Atlanta United last week. 

Now, the team be looking to break its franchise record by making it seven as it hosts Orlando City SC on Saturday at Stade Saputo.

“This is a chance to write a page in the club’s history books so it’s definitely an added bit of motivation,” Montreal head coach Wilfried Nancy said. “I think that it’ll be in the players heads, but we still have to focus on the game at hand.”

Montreal will be without starting midfielders Victor Wanyama and Ismaël Koné, who picked up their fifth yellow cards of the season against Atlanta last week.

“It’s what’s expected during a season. Players get suspended or injured that’s just a part of the league,” Nancy said. “We’re going to pick players with the right tools to get a result from who we have available.”

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Montreal has seen a gradual return of players that were not available at the start of the season. That lack of depth largely contributed to Montreal crashing out of the CONCACAF Champions League and starting their MLS campaign with three straight losses.

One player who could be eyeing his first start of the season is midfielder Samuel Piette. The homegrown player has been recovering from an ankle injury suffered in February while on international duty with the Canadian national team.

“I’m ready to go and I feel good for this weekend. I think I’ve got at least an hour of game time in me,” said Piette, who came on as a substitute in Montreal’s last two games to test out his recovery. “I feel great physically and if they call my number either as a starter of off the bench, I’ll be ready.”

Both teams will be entering the Saturday in strong form, with Orlando having won four of its last five games. The last time the two teams faced off was in the season opener where costly defensive mistakes saw Montreal lose 2-0.

“It was an interesting matchup. We lost control of the game in just a few minutes, but we’ve gotten better at managing that,” Nancy said. “They’re an experienced team that can adapt their defending and their attack, so we need to make sure that we set the tempo right away.”
 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2022.

Elias Grigoriadis, The Canadian Press