Well, that was very bad.
I’ll try to make this brief, because this match was anything but. James O’Connor strayed from his usual starting XI for this match, partially out of necessity, and partially out of…I’m not real sure. Aodhan Quinn, who has been doing an awesome job starting in the pivot beside Juan Guzman during Louisville City’s recent win streak, was suspended this game for yellow card accumulation, so Magnus Rasmussen was pulled back to play his role, while Charlie Adams kinda sorta filled in for MAG RAM in the central attacking midfield role. Niall McCabe took Adams’s spot on the left. Kevin Cosette, the Bourbons’ recent signing at left back, started in place of Enrique Montano, who was available on the bench.
In any event, it didn’t take long for Montreal to figure out that they had a huge pace advantage on their right side, and quickly exploited it to the tune of two almost identical goals in the first twenty minutes. Both scores came when Montreal sent a wide player toward Louisville City’s endline with the ball on the right and put in a low cross across the goal to a completely unmarked Alessandro Riggi, who Bryan Burke managed to lose twice in a row. Scotty Goodwin must’ve thought it was groundhog day.
Goal #3 was a little different, but still the product of a defensive breakdown in the penalty area, this time by Conor Shanosky who got tripped up by the turf monster, leaving Jacque Llaman wide open for an easy score just about 90 seconds after City had already gone two down.
Team Purple chased the game for about 70 more minutes and poured on the shots in the second half, but none of them went in thanks to a great performance by Maxim Crepeau. Despite taking 28 shots (TWENTY. EIGHT. SHOTS.), none of them went in. Les Bleus et Blancs et Noirs grabbed another goal on a counter attack late in the second half to rub some more salt in the wound, but the damage was already done by that point.
The loss is just City’s second ever at home, and is the worst loss they’ve ever surrendered. To be blunt, it sucked, and I hope we don’t have to see another one like that again this season. Ugh.