Two sides looking to secure their holds on a playoff spot square off when CF Montreal visits Orlando City on Wednesday.
Montreal (11-10-8, 41 points), undefeated in its past two games, is in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, tied with sixth-place D.C. United in points, and four points back of fourth-place Orlando (12-8-9, 45 points). Montreal is a point ahead of New York City FC and the New York Red Bulls, in eighth and ninth, respectively.
“All the players prepare for moments like these. Every game, for me, is a playoff game,” Montreal goalkeeper James Pantemis said. “There are challenges ahead of us. … We’re just trying to show that we’re here, we can compete with the best teams and we can win.”
Montreal claimed the three points the last time the two clubs met on Sept. 15 in Orlando, scoring two late goals to clinch a 4-2 victory, after the Lions erased Montreal’s 2-0 lead. Orlando played most of the match short-handed, with Nani being shown a red card in the 35th minute.
The Lions are coming off a 1-0 win against FC Cincinnati on Saturday. They’ve won two straight and are unbeaten in their past three matches.
Junior Urso scored the lone goal in the contest, with a long-range strike.
“We don’t have many goals from outside of the box so (against Cincinnati) we tried to do that, and we got it,” he said. “I think the confidence is back so we have to try everything. We have a quality in our team so we have a shot, we have good headings, good dribbling so we have to use everything. (Saturday) we were not so well but we got the three points. This is so important for us.”
Orlando is one point behind the Philadelphia Union in third place and three shy of second-place Nashville SC.
Nani, who has nine goals, needs one goal to become the second player in the club’s MLS history to record multiple double-digit goal seasons, after Cyle Larin.
–Field Level Media
