Austin 1, Montreal 0; Former Montreal player Maxi Urruti scores the only goal.
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CF Montréal returned to action after a 22-day layoff and they dominated Austin FC in every area except on the scoreboard.
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Austin FC, an MLS expansion team, played the entire second half with only 10 men but managed to pick up a 1-0 road victory.
Veteran Maxi Urruti, whose extensive resume includes two seasons with the Montreal Impact, took a cross from Jon Gallagher. Two Montreal defenders were late to the party as Urruti put the ball behind Sebastian Breza.
Coach Wifried Nancy said there were lessons to be learned after losing at home while playing 11 men against 10.
“We dominated for large portions of the game but we couldn’t get it done,” said Nancy. “We’ll analyze the game and see where we can improve.”
Veteran striker Kei Kamara had a golden opportunity to open the scoring in the second half. Zachary Brault-Guillard brought the ball up the right side and found Kamara going to the net. Defender Julio Cascante failed to cut off the pass but Kamara was in too tight and goalkeeper Brad Stuver smothered his shot.
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CFM outshot Austin 12-5 but Kamara’s shot was one of only two that reached Stuver.
Minutes later, Austin FC had a golden opportunity when Diego Fagundez had too much room on the right side and Breza got a break when Fagundez’s shot hit the near post.
Austin FC was forced to play with 10 men after Danny Pereira was sent off in the 44th minute when he ran over Mathieu Chouinard and was handed his second yellow card of the game. He picked up his first yellow in the sixth minute.
CFM announced prior to the game that Sunusi Ibrahim was unavailable because of a wrist injury.
The team was already without three key players. Djordje Mihailovic, Lassi Lappalainen and Kamal Miller were among the players who represented their respective countries in games during the international break and were not ready to resume MLS action.
Nancy said Mihaliovic injured his knee in training Wednesday and could be out for as long as four weeks.
There was some good news on the injury front as high-scoring striker Mason Toye was dressed as a substitute, but he did not play. Toye missed the second half of last season with a shoulder injury. He returned to training in January but he suffered a groin injury, which has kept him on the sidelines.
During the first half, CFM recognized the presence of former Impact captain Dany Arnaud, who is an assistant coach with Austin FC.