CF Montreal Returns To BC Looking For Another Win Against The ‘Caps

On Saturday night CF Montreal will make their first trip to British Columbia in over a year to face another struggling MLS side in the Vancouver Whitecaps.

The international break couldn’t have come at a better time for CF Montreal: the team, dealing with a lot of injuries, had time for their players to heal and get better while working on systems and tactics that didn’t seem to work in the first three matches.

A lot of media have said that the break actually didn’t come at a good time as CF Montreal was coming off their first win of the season at home against the Philadelphia Union.

That win seemed to get the monkey off the team’s back and allow the team to exhale, knowing this was once again the time to turn the season around – just as they did last season.

Speaking on Wednesday morning at the Olympic Stadium, we got to hear from head coach Hernan Losada along with Aaron Herrera, who could be back in the lineup.

Losada even took the time to apologize to the media for the miscommunication on Kamal Miller’s situation and updated them on who is in and who is out against Vancouver.

Goalkeeper James Pantemis, who injured his shoulder in the first game against Inter Miami, is doing better and Losada actually confirmed he won’t need surgery which is a sigh of relief. However, he’s still 4-6 weeks away from returning.

Losada also confirmed Lassi Lappalainen is out due to his injury and it will be his first time coaching at BC Place in Vancouver against the Whitecaps.

The game will be played on turf which is good for the visitors as they train and play on turf at the Olympic Stadium at the beginning of the season before moving to Saputo Stadium.

“It was good to have a break”, he said. “It was good for Samuel, Kamal, and I think in general we increased our fitness and we had two good weeks of training.”

He also admits it will not be easy with the long flight and the jet lag playing on the west coast.

“It will be very difficult but we will play a competitive match and I hope that we can get a good result on the road because that is important.”

Losada hopes Romell Quioto will be ready for Saturday night in BC as he returns to the team from international duty playing for Honduras against Canada on Tuesday night in Toronto.

Herrera confirmed to the media in attendance that he is ready to go Saturday after picking up a knock in the last game against Philadelphia.

“I am ready to go for Saturday, but I am not 100% yet. We are managing it as much as possible with training throughout the week to make sure I am ready.”

Herrera, who came from Real Salt Lake, has a lot of experience playing on the west coast and I asked him about it.

“We played there a lot”, he said. “It’s not an easy place to go play. It’s an interesting atmosphere. They are usually a good home team, and we have to go there ready to play and it’s going to be a good game.”

Herrera confirmed that the fact he didn’t play last week allowed him the experience to watch a game as a fan and admits he was late to the game due to traffic and even missed the first goal.

He also confirmed that he has changed nationalities and will now be playing for Guatemala instead of the US, and had he not been injured would have played for them during the international break.

“It’s been a long process, and it is something we have worked on for over a year now and when the US stopped calling I knew it was time to make the switch. It’s a country I am really excited to play for and their fans are really passionate about football,” he said.

Herrera confirmed to the Northern Tribune the link is through his dad who was born in Guatemala, and says he has been there once but it was a long time ago when he was six years old.

Kickoff for CF Montreal’s away match against the Vancouver Whitecaps is scheduled for 10:30 PM EST and 7:30PM local time. The game can be seen on Apple TV MLS Season Pass.