“I’m glad Mahala said that. It speaks a lot about his desire, his ambition. »
What did CF Montreal striker Kwadwo “Mahala” Opoku say that pleased his head coach Hernán Losada so much?
He was responding to a question from La Presse about his offensive contribution of two goals in eight games since his trade from LAFC to the Impact.
“It’s not enough,” he said Thursday, before his team’s training at the Nutrilait Center. This is not a number I am comfortable with. I hope I can score in every match. »
A performance that would make him happy, obviously, but also one that his club greatly needs in view of the crucial week which begins Saturday evening, at Saputo stadium, against the Chicago Fire. A match with the proverbial six points at stake, given the close ranking of the two teams around the last places giving access to the playoffs.
Montreal’s offensive setbacks have generated a lot of ink and sound waves this season.
Attackers Mason Toye, Sunusi Ibrahim, Chinonso Offor, Jules-Anthony Vilsaint and said Opoku took turns to try to fill the gaping hole left by the prolonged absence of Romell Quioto, injured since mid-May.
Could we see the Honduran again on Saturday night? Hernán Losada didn’t say yes on Thursday, but he didn’t say no either… which in itself is good news for the CFM.
Opoku ensures that his adaptation to Montreal and within his new club is going smoothly. That the more time passes, the better his chemistry with his offensive colleagues will work.
He also has good words for the young Vilsaint, who scored his first goal, in addition to providing an assist, in the 4-2 defeat against the Columbus Crew before the international break.
“He is talented and powerful,” says Opoku. When you give him the ball, he knows how to attack opposing players. He’s really good. »
Hernán Losada agrees that his players “can do better in terms of offensive input”. But there are nuances.
“We will not forget that we have a lot of offensive players who are very, very young, who started playing in the eleven this year. And in Mahala’s case, he doesn’t play the same position as at LAFC. It’s going to take longer. […] He scores a lot of goals in training, so we hope he can do the same in the match. »
We said it: the three-game week that begins Saturday evening will be decisive for Montrealers, with only seven games remaining in the season. Chicago has 32 points, in 10th place. Montreal has 35, in 8th. The eighth and ninth in the East at the end of the season play a qualifying match to move on to the real tournament. Ahead of Montreal, Nashville is five points ahead, in seventh position.
But there’s no need to remind Losada of all that. The coach immediately speaks of “an important match for the future, for the club’s objective”, when asked about it.
If he says he is “well prepared” to face this busy schedule, he recalls that Montreal has its destiny “in [his] hands”.
The latter was also frank about his strategy for Saturday: his starting eleven should resemble that of the match against the Crew. This is because he does not want to draw too many conclusions from a poor defensive performance against the best attack in the league. He talks about possible minor changes, so we can expect Joel Waterman to return to his position on defense.
And otherwise, on Saturday, it will be difficult to ignore the presence of the great Kei Kamara, who today wears the colors of the Fire. His year 2022 with Montreal was spent with joy and joy. His departure, a little less. But the members of the club in the Quebec metropolis assure that their concentration is elsewhere entirely.
“Yes, there are perhaps emotions at play, but we have more in mind to win this match and advance towards the playoffs,” says Mathieu Choinière.
Even before his arrival at the CFM, Kamara had the reputation of virtually always scoring against Montreal. We wouldn’t be surprised to see him running down the pitch at Saputo stadium with gusto on Saturday.
