CF Montreal v Columbus Crew: First win 'a big step forward', says Donadel

CF Montreal interim head coach Marco Donadel believes his team have taken "a big step forward" after getting their first win of the season last time out.

Donadel watched on as his players put on an impressive display to beat New York City FC 1-0 away from home, ending an 11-game winless streak.

It has been a difficult campaign thus far for Montreal, who are still bottom of the Eastern Conference, though Donadel believes this could be a turning point in their season.

"We showed that today we have taken a big step forward. Not just by getting the three points, but because we showed that we can do a lot of things on the pitch," Donadel said.

"It seems like all the work we've done over the last six weeks has paid off. We showed that we can play short when they give us space. We showed that when they wanted to press us higher, we could play more directly with a striker.

"We showed that we can defend high, but also deep. And we showed that we could fight until the last minute. We showed that we can deal with a lack of energy, like at the end of the first half. We showed a lot of things, and that's why we won."

Montreal will be hoping to build on that winning momentum against the Columbus Crew in midweek, though they face a tough test against Wilfried Nancy's high-flyers.

The Crew sit second in the Eastern Conference but relinquished top spot to FC Cincinnati after they snatched a late draw against the Philadelphia Union in their last encounter.

Though failing to remain at the summit, head coach Nancy credited his team's mindset for being able to claim a draw against a potential playoff rival this season.

"What I want to highlight is the mindset of my team, coming from behind twice until the end trying to find a way to come back and to score the second goal," Nancy said. 

"We had clear also chances to score, but it is so difficult to play against [Philadelphia] because they run, they run, they are really lively, and the players, they fight and fight.

"Really happy that we were able to match their intensity physically and to play the way we want to play. Again, a difficult game, but in a good way.

"I think that's it's a good tie, but to be honest, the first goal is a bit difficult to accept."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Montreal – Prince Owusu

Owusu gave Montreal their first lead of the season in the 48th minute of their 1-0 win over NYCFC on Saturday.

Montreal went an MLS-record 1037 minutes into the season before taking their first lead of the campaign, and will be hoping a similar stretch does not happen again. 

Columbus Crew – Sean Zawadzki 

Zawadzki scored his seventh career MLS goal on Saturday, an equaliser in the third minute of second-half stoppage time against Philadelphia last time out.

Three of his seven career MLS goals have been stoppage-time equalisers, though he will be hoping he can help his side earn all three points this time around.

MATCH PREDICTION: COLUMBUS CREW WIN

Columbus have won their last two visits to Montreal, including a 3-1 win in their last visit in May 2024. Prior to this, they had managed just two wins in 11 all-time matches in Montreal (D2 L7).

The Crew scored a stoppage-time equaliser to earn a 2-2 draw at Philadelphia on Saturday. Columbus have just one loss through 12 matches of a season for the second time in club history (first 13 in 2020).

In their three home matches this season, Montreal has scored one goal and earned one point (D1 L2). They are one of four MLS teams this year (LA Galaxy, St. Louis City, Toronto) to be held to no more than one goal in their first three home games, the most in a single season in league history.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Montreal – 20.8%

Draw – 21.4%

Columbus Crew – 57.8%