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CF Montreal 2, LAFC 2: Misfortune in Montreal

LAFC avoid early disaster, fight for point on the road
Trebor TracyBy 4 Mins Read
LAFC forward Olivier Giroud celebrates his late equalizer. Photo courtesy of Los Angeles FC

It was the longest road trip of the season for LAFC, as the team from the heart of Los Angeles, made their way clear across and out of the country, to take on Canadian side, CF Montreal. While the team did just enough to ensure their unbeaten run didn’t come to an end, extending it now to eight matches, the woes on the road continue for Los Angeles, as they let another prime opportunity for the win slip from their fingers.

CF Montreal are the Eastern Conference’s version of the LA Galaxy this season, except they have actually won a match. This has been a team that has struggled every step of the way this season, and when going up against a team like LAFC, the best thing to do is go up as early as possible. The game plan was perfect to start the match for the home side, as it didn’t take long for LA to get hit right in the mouth. Just five minutes into the match, Montreal muscled their way past several defenders, into the box, where the ball found its way to Giacomo Vrioni, who fought off several more defenders and slotted it into the corner for the early lead.

With LAFC on the back foot and struggling to find themselves early, Montreal kept applying the pressure and before we hit 25 minutes into the match, the home side had earned a penalty. Prince Owusu stepped up to the spot and simply smashed it past Lloris to double the lead for his side in the 22nd minute.

It wasn’t just the scoreline, but it very much felt like one of those matches you would want to forget if you’re Los Angeles. The home side were in full control and looked the far more dangerous side early on, but the thing about that is, you have to keep up that energy for an entire match. Thankfully, LAFC aren’t the type of team to lay down and just accept defeat, and they were able to wake up a bit near the end of the first half. With the half winding down, Nathan Ordaz got on the end of a solid pass that sent him down the flank, putting in a ball in front of goal that Mark Delgado was able to get to. Despite the Montreal keeper getting hands on it, the shot was too strong to be denied and in the 38th minute, LAFC had their goal, cutting the deficit in half going into the break.

At the half, LAFC only led in possession, but as we know in this sport, keeping the ball most doesn’t always translate to actually controlling the match. Montreal finished the half with 10 shots, five on target, while LAFC  only had five shots total. However, the LA team is usually stronger in the second half, and they absolutely flipped the script on the home side. It may have taken the team a while to find the equalizer, but it was hardly any time at all for the one who scored the goal. Just minutes after taking the pitch as a sub, Olivier Giroud found himself in the right spot in the 77th minute, as a pass into the box was initially blocked by a defender, but rebounded right to Giroud who needed just one touch to get it into the back of the net for the equalizer.

LAFC finished the second half in much better fashion, with 14 shots, 67% of the possession, and 90% success on their 280 passes in the half. They didn’t quite have enough to come away with the win, but they fight to split the points was complete, and they were able to push their unbeaten run to eight, even if they left feeling tinges of disappointment. “I do believe we broke them down often enough to win this match” said LAFC Head Coach Steve Cherundolo when speaking to media after the match. “We’re a little disappointed in the end result, had a slow start to the game which was disappointing. We can’t start games like that on the road, and expect to win in the end.”

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