Saturday, Jul 30, 2022. 9:26 PM
MONTREAL – Jason Di Tullio would have been proud. The day following the announcement of the death of their assistant coach, the players of CF Montreal played with the “Grinta” at heart once morest the New York City Football Club.
The Impact conceded just one shot on the Eastern Conference’s best offense on Saturday and tied the game 0-0 following a performance that should have earned them three points rather than one. only.
Emotional match the day following the death of Jason Du Tullio
After the match, coach Wilfried Nancy verbalized two facts: the preparation for this emotional meeting was difficult, but the reaction of his group was up to the sadness he felt.
“I tried to find resources, but anyway with Jason, I had to move my buttocks a little because he wouldn’t have liked me to be all soft, Nancy commented in a press briefing. With the staff, we were together. We have created an environment since last year where, with the players, it is strong. Today the players responded on the pitch. Tactically, we prepared things and we continued to work. We had no choice. That’s what we wanted to do with Jay as well. »
“All that was missing was the victory,” summed up the coach well.
Djordje Mihailovic was the victim of a fine save by goalkeeper Sean Johnson at the end of the first half. Mason Toye missed a golden opportunity to spoil a superb preparation from Romell Quioto in the 55e minute. At the time of the accounts, the locals had fired 13 shots in the direction of the opposing net. Only one was on target, however, and in the end, NYCFC managed to return an immaculate record in a fourth game in a row.
Never mind, the Montrealers certainly delivered the message that defender Joel Waterman had said he wanted to get across before the duel. At the start of the season, the CFM had been flouted by the mark of 4-1 during a sad visit to New York. The response offered at the reunion suggests it was an anomaly.
“People will remember the result first, but we want to focus on performance, telling ourselves that the results will follow. And I think so, we did a ‘statement‘, judged Samuel Piette. New York City was in no way threatening. We were dominant in possession. Once once more, [il manquait] the final touch, the strike, the well-adjusted center to get this goal. It’s unfortunate, but I think it was our team that was dominant from the first minute until the end. With all due respect, I only saw one team on the pitch today. »
« [Maxi] Moralez came out of the game quite early and they no longer have [Taty] Castellanos. They are still looking for their new identity and we know that we were not facing the best version of NYC, put Kamal Miller into perspective. But their ways of attacking and the foundations of their game remain those of one of the best teams in the League. The fact that we managed to get a shutout, when we have historically had problems keeping zero, that says a lot. »
Undefeated in their last three outings, coach Wilfried Nancy’s squad stayed six points behind their Bronx rivals, but moved up a spot in the East standings due to the inactivity of the New York Red Bulls. They are now only beaten by the Philadelphia Union, without mercy Saturday night once morest Houston, and NYCFC.
“I don’t know if we have our place [en haut de classement], Nancy said in response to a reporter’s question. What I know is that my team is capable of playing very high level matches. Tonight was beautiful. When you see that New York City has no shots on target… I usually take the stats lightly, but it’s strong what they did. »
It was only the fifth time in its history in MLS that the Impact/CF Montreal did not give a shot on target in a match.
The match was preceded by a brief memorial service for Di Tullio, who died on Friday of brain cancer he was diagnosed with in June 2021. Players from both teams gathered in the center of the field while a video paying homage to the deceased was broadcast on the two giant screens. A minute of silence was then observed before the initial whistle.
The game was played in front of 19,619 spectators, the second full house of the season at Stade Saputo.
Waterman received a yellow card which will earn him a suspension for CF Montreal’s next game on Wednesday once morest the Crew in Columbus.
