MONTREAL — Daniel Rios converted a stoppage time penalty to lift CF Montreal to its fourth consecutive home win with a 2-0 Major League Soccer decision against visiting Orlando City on Saturday.
Substitutes Rios and Dangur Thorhallsson scored for Montreal (4-7-0), which leapfrogged Orlando (3-1-8) in the Eastern Conference standings.
Montreal has won four of the five games played since interim manager Philippe Eullaffroy took over and seems to have found new life and is enjoying football again.
“It’s a combination of many things, firstly the mentality, but also the ambience within the group. When people get along well off the field, they feel the freedom to work harder for one another,” said Eullaffroy. “Love makes you do many things, so when there’s love in the group, we fight for each other.”
On the back of their strong recent home form, Montreal controlled the tempo of the match in the early stages — both through possession and on the counterattack as gaps all over the field set the stage for an attacking matchup.
As is often the case with a matchup between two of the lowest-rated defensive sides in MLS, both teams embraced the game's openness immediately. The attackers had golden scoring opportunities in the opening 20 minutes, but couldn't find the back of the net.
Five minutes before halftime, Montreal came closest to striking first when Orlando defender Iago almost deflected the ball into his own goal, hitting the post instead.
“We don’t change much about our way of playing. They scored four against Inter Miami and they have a great quality, but they’re not as effective defensively,” said Eullaffroy. “Since they like to get forward and open up the wide areas, we wanted to take advantage of this weakness. In the first half, we could’ve done more to avoid the nerves at the end of the game.”
Montreal’s dominance continued into the second half as the home side controlled the ball and set up shop in the Orlando final third. However, their chances were at a premium as they struggled to get a clear sight at goal without their shots being blocked.
With 15 minutes remaining, Prince Owusu was played through on goal by Wiki Carmona and managed to get around the goalkeeper, but his shot into a wide-open net was blocked at the last second by a desperate Iago.
Facing the possibility of a scoreless draw and the end of his perfect home run, Eullaffroy made all four of his substitutions in the final 10 minutes of the game, a decision that was ultimately rewarded with three points.
“It was hard for us to find the right moment (to make the substitutions). When there’s a balance, you don’t want to throw it off, and the team was well-balanced for most of the game,” said Eullaffroy. “One of our values is audacity. At one point, you have to ask, ‘Are you OK with just one point or do you want to get three?’ We wanted to respect those values.”
As the clock struck 90 minutes, Luca Petrasso found space in the penalty area and was brought down by Robin Jansson, giving Montreal a chance to score from the spot. After failing to find the back of the net in his first six games, Ríos scored his second in as many matches by placing the spot kick into the top corner.
“I was staying in the present and trying to stay calm. Orlando has Latin players, and they have the spice in the blood and do everything to take your mind off the penalty,” said Rios, who was forced to wait an agonizing three minutes before delivering the decisive penalty.
In the closing stages of the match, Thorhallsson doubled Montreal’s lead. After picking up the ball, the Icelandic international fired a shot into the bottom right corner, scoring his first goal for Montreal against his former club.
UP NEXT
Orlando: Hosts the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday.
Montreal: Hosts the Portland Timbers on Wednesday.