Wanyama blames poor finishing as CF Montreal suffer first successive home losses in three years

©Wanyama FB page

STARS ABROAD Wanyama blames poor finishing as CF Montreal suffer first successive home losses in three years

Joel Omotto 15:04 - 09.07.2023

The former Harambee Stars captain rued his side’s lack of cutting edge following their defeat to Atlanta United.

Victor Wanyama has blamed a lack of cutting edge in attack for his side’s second straight home loss after CF Montreal fell 1-0 to Atlanta United in an MLS clash on Sunday morning.

Brooks Lennon’s 54th-minute strike was all the visitors needed to beat Montreal who had lost by a similar margin to visiting New York City FC on Canada Day. It’s Montreal’s first back-to-back loss at Stade Saputo since August 28 and September 9, 2020.

Wanyama, who played 79 minutes of the encounter, however, feels his side deserved something from the game and were only let down by poor finishing.

“I feel like we were better today, but we lacked the cutting edge to get a result,” said captain Wanyama after the match, as quoted by Canadian outlet The Star.

“I think we moved the ball well and we broke them down well, but when it came to the final third, I think we just rushed it a little bit.”

While teams playing in Stade Saputo normally establish a low block and concede the lion’s share of the possession, Atlanta looked to do the opposite. They pressed high up the pitch and forced Montreal to earn every yard of progress.

The approach yielded an open game with both teams finding large gaps in the opposing midfield and attacking at will. While both teams’ attacks enjoyed freedom, neither could generate concrete opportunities as last-ditch tackles were frequent.

Atlanta came out of the break and controlled the tempo for the opening phase. They won possession high up the field and began catching Montreal out of position.

It took just 10 minutes after the break for the deadlock to be broken. After winning a free kick just 25 yards away from goal, midfielder Thiago Almada hit a perfect shot over the wall and struck the post, leaving Lennon with a wide-open goal to give the visitors the lead.

With the result in their favour, Atlanta started slowing down the game in a bid to disrupt Montreal’s rhythm, committing several fouls and were able to frustrate their opponents which would eventually lead to a mass confrontation after the final whistle that even saw both coaches exchange heated words.

Besides suffering back-to-back losses, Montreal coach Hernan Losada will also be a worried man as his side have now gone three games without scoring since beating Nashville 1-0 on June 22.

Defeat leaves Montreal ninth on the 15-team Eastern Conference table with 26 points from 21 matches ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Chicago Fire.