CF Montreal Ready To Face DC United In Final Leagues Cup Group Game

Three days after CF Montreal needed penalties to beat Pumas UNAM despite having led 2-0 up till the 88th minute, Hernan Losada, Samuel Piette, and newly signed Mahala Opoku met the media.

They face DC United with a chance to win the group, and can even advance with one or two points – but they are looking for three.

“These last three days have been about recovery,” Losada responded in his opening answer. “It is very important to recover from the game we had on Saturday night.”

CF Montreal has faced DC United twice before and both times were losses. Losada was asked how he is going to handle the adjustment for a more subdued crowd.

“I feel like on the field we will bring the same energy and the same intensity. We prepare every game the same way and I do hope our fans will show up tomorrow night.”

Losada was asked if there is a change in mentality with the fact they control their own destiny, meaning a win in regulation or in penalties sees them through to the next round.

“It changes nothing because we need to win whether it’s in regulation or with penalties. We want to advance so it’s the same thing and I hope we can put out a good performance like last Saturday.”

CF Montreal are in a situation where if they win the group they avoid a potential matchup on the road with the Philadelphia Union and continue to play at home until they face either Philadelphia or LAFC later on.

“It’s important firstly to pass to the next round and especially if we can finish first and avoid Philadelphia, but it’s more important just to advance to the next round.”

He also gave an update on injured players and was asked about Victor Wanyama, who was seen Saturday hobbling and struggling to walk.

“In regards to injuries, we will see with the last training session before the match and I hope everyone will be fit for tomorrow.

Samuel Piette, who missed the last game due to illness, was asked about the importance of the game.

“It’s a big game for us,” Piette responded. “We know if we win we’re through and on to the next round. Ee played them twice at home and they beat us, and we don’t want that to happen again.”

Piette confirms he got the virus the day before the game and said it was pretty bad.

“I got the virus one day before the game and it was quite rough but during the game, I had recovered from it but to see the atmosphere and the performance and the intensity between both clubs was special.”

I asked Piette about the readjustment from playing a team in Liga MX back to playing against a team from MLS.

“The difference is you played a team that you don’t know a lot about, and you discover them through videos. When you play them and make adjustments at half-time and you find out how physical they are, and how they play tactically.”

“I think we realized that pretty early whereas DC United you have played them twice this year. It’s an MLS team, so the difference is there. It’s a game we want to win to go through.”

Finally, we got to hear from Mahala Opoku, who stressed the importance of the game against DC United.

“It’s an important game,” Mahala surmised. “It is really important that we are going to fight to get this win.”

Opoku was asked about the differences between the game against Pumas, where it was electric, to playing against DC United where it might not be as intense.

“Our fans are there to support us and it’s how you control the emotions and they motivate us so we want to make them happy.”