Brooks Lennon’s goal in the 54th minute lifted visiting Atlanta United to a 1-0 win over CF Montreal on Saturday.
Thiago Almada’s free kick from a few feet beyond the top of the penalty box hit the post and darted into the goalmouth, where Lennon deposited it into the open net for his second goal in as many games.
Atlanta (9-5-8, 35 points) won its second straight match and improved to 4-1-5 in its last 10 matches to continue its Eastern Conference playoff push.
Montreal (8-11-2, 26 points) has been blanked in its past three matches and hasn’t scored since Bryce Duke’s winner in a 1-0 victory over Nashville SC on June 21.
CF Montreal is 3-3-2 in their past eight matches as they try to recover from their 1-6-0 start to the season.
Atlanta goalie Brad Guzan made just one save to post his second straight shutout, his fifth of the season and the 76th of his career.
Guzan also made one save in Sunday’s 2-0 win over the Philadelphia Union, as Atlanta’s consecutive shutouts have come after the Five Stripes conceded 10 goals in their previous five matches (1-1-3).
Atlanta’s offense struggled at times without forward Georgios Giakoumakis, who has scored a team-high 10 goals but suffered a hamstring injury in the first half against Philadelphia and didn’t play against Montreal.
Jonathan Sirois made two saves for CF Montreal, his fifth straight game with at least two.
Montreal maintained possession for 56.5 percent of the game, putting just one of its 15 shots on target and completing 81.6 percent of its 456 passes.
Atlanta put just three of its seven shots on frame and completed 79.7 percent of its 359 passes.
–Field Level Media
