CF Montréal took full advantage of Nani's first-half red card to record an impressive 4-2 road win over Orlando City SC in an Eastern Conference battle at Exploria Stadium on Wednesday night.
The result lifts Montréal back above the playoff line in the East and leaves Orlando, who finished the game with nine men following a late ejection for Andres Perea, still in third place but starting to look over their shoulders after back-to-back defeats.
Montréal stunned the Lions in their home stadium with an early goal from Mathieu Choinière at the 18th minute. The third homegrown in club history to earn a 20th start easily picked up a lobbed cross from Romell Quioto, scoring his second goal of the season and breaking the ice for the visitors.
Orlando dug themselves in an even deeper hole at the 35th minute when Nani was ejected. The former Portugal international picked up a second yellow card with a foul in the center of midfield to further boost Montréal's hopes of a big road win.
Montréal took no time to profit from the man advantage. At the 37th minute, Djordje Mihailovic received the ball from the free kick that followed Nani's ejection and shocked the Orlando backline with a through ball for Quioto. The Honduran international beat Pedro Gallese with a shot toward the far post, giving Montréal a 2-0 lead.
A set-piece play cut Orlando's deficit by half at the 40th minute. Montréal's defense tried to clear the ball from their own box but it went straight for Robin Jansson, who finished emphatically to give Orlando hope of an unlikely comeback.
The 10-men then pulled level in the second half when Ruan scored his first Orlando City goal in the 63rd minute. The Brazilian right back took advantage of a loose ball just right of the penalty spot to find the net.
Orlando weren't level for long, however. Montréal regained the lead in the 73rd minute when Lassi Lappalainen netted his first goal of the 2021 campaign. From the right flank, Quioto located the Finland international, who had just subbed in, with a powerful cross inside the box. Lappalainen extended his leg and tapped in the go-ahead goal for Montréal.
The result was made safe for the visitors when Sunusi Ibrahim added Montréal's insurance goal at the 80th minute from a corner kick opportunity. The Nigerian international rushed towards the near post, won the ball and notched his second goal of the season to end Orlando's hopes of a late equalizer.
To add insult to injury, Perea took down Ibrahim in a denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity, earning a late red card at the 83rd minute.
Goals
Three things
- THE BIG PICTURE: CF Montréal took full advantage of Nani’s early red card to notch an unexpected victory at Exploria Stadium. Wilfried Nancy’s squad tripped up to let Orlando back in the contest but fought back to earn an important win that brought them back over the red line. For only the second time this season, Orlando City lost a second game in a row. Discipline issues gave Oscar Pareja’s squad loads of problems to solve early before they were taken down by a late wave of goals.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Fresh from subbing in, Lassi Lappalainen scored what could prove to be a crucial goal in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs race.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Back from international duty and fitness issues, Romell Quioto was instrumental in his team’s win. The Honduran international scored and added two assists during a big 4-2 victory.
Next up
- ORL: Sunday, September 19 at Philadelphia Union | 4 pm ET (ESPN, ESPN Deportes)
- MTL: Sunday, September 19 vs Chicago Fire FC | 1 pm ET (TVA Sports, MLS Live on ESPN+)
