Two struggling teams aim to find their footing when CF Montreal hosts D.C. United on Saturday.
It’s been a woeful start to the season for Montreal (1-5-0, 3 points), which sits last in the Eastern Conference and third from last overall in the MLS table.
Montreal has been shut out in each of its past two games while conceding nine goals in that span. They’re the second team in MLS history to allow at least nine tallies while failing to score in two matches.
“It concerns all of us,” coach Hernan Losada said. “We need to be more efficient in front of goal and more aggressive in our defensive duels. We’re all in the same boat and we need to pull together to find solutions, improve and give more to our fans.”
Saturday’s match will mark the first time Losada will face his former club, for whom he served as head coach for just over a year before he was fired last April 20. Montreal hired him Dec. 21.
Midfielder Bryce Duke and winger Ariel Lassiter, acquired by Montreal from Inter Miami on Wednesday in exchange for defender Kamal Miller and general allocation money, will be available for their new club.
United (1-4-2, 5 points), which sits 13th in the Eastern Conference, has also been blanked in each of their past two contests, falling 2-0 to the Columbus Crew last week after a 0-0 draw against the Chicago Fire on April 1. D.C.’s lone victory came in the season opener against Toronto FC on Feb. 25.
“You see the results obviously aren’t going our way, but we’re a team that we believe in what we’re doing,” midfielder Russell Canouse told the team’s website. “The results don’t define us right now. We think we’ve been much better with where we’re at in the table. … We’re seven games in, still a long way to go. Hopefully, we can start to turn it around and the results will turn for us.”
D.C. has lost 10 of its past 13 road games, going 1-10-2 and being held off the scoresheet in 10 of those matches while only scoring twice in the other three.
–Field Level Media
