Following Wednesday night’s defeat in south Texas, the Columbus Crew travel north of the border to face CF Montréal on Saturday night in an Eastern Conference matchup.
Three Things To Know
5 – The Crew lost, 2-0, to Houston Dynamo FC on Wednesday, but there’s little time to sulk with Saturday night quickly approach. Despite the loss, Columbus still sits fifth in the Eastern Conference and has an opportunity to gain momentum ahead of the two-week international break. There was squad rotation against the Dynamo, so it’ll be interesting to see the starting lineup on Saturday. Remember, the Crew leads the East with 50 goals, and we’ve only seen one game in which the Cucho Hernández-Christian Ramirez-Diego Rossi trio starts together. That led to the most shots in a Crew match to date (31), and a 2-0 win against another Canadian club.
8 – Including Saturday night’s game, the Crew has eight games left in the 2023 regular season. While FC Cincinnati is the only team that’s clinched the postseason to date, there’s certainly optimism the same can happen in the Ohio capital over the next few weeks. The same cannot be said for the next opponent, Montréal, however. Montréal currently sits eighth in the conference standings – now a play-in game spot, not an automatic playoff berth. It’s too soon to talk playoffs, but the point here is Montréal is a decent team looking to stack results. The home side is coming off a 2-0 loss against New York City FC, so it’ll be interested to see the club’s response back on home soil.
0.10% - Nancy isn’t one to talk about himself, so let’s do it for him. Saturday night is the return to his former club – one he joined in 2011. Initially with the Montréal Impact Academy, he worked his way up to becoming the club’s head coach, and in 2022, he was one-tenth of a percentage point away from becoming the 2022 MLS Sigi Schmid Coach of the Year. That’s an achievement for anyone, let alone a coach who worked through the team’s pathway, just like players. All of that said, this will be Nancy's first match returning to Montreal at the helm of the Black & Gold, but the coach's sole focus will be securing a good away result.
When They Last Met
Nancy was on the opposite touchline! But ugh, to remember those Montréal matches last season … On Sept. 9, 2022, the Crew scored twice in two minutes to carry a two-goal lead late into the match. But then a red card happened, and Montréal scored in the 89th and 94th minutes to finish the match level. It was a draw, but it certainly didn’t feel like it.
Match Overview
Who: Columbus Crew at CF Montréal
When: Saturday, Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Saputo Stadium
How to Watch: MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app
How to Listen: 97.1 HD3/The Fan Stream, La Mega 103.1 FM
Current Standings: Columbus Crew – fifth in Eastern Conference; CF Montréal – eighth in Eastern Conference
Single-Match Tickets
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