Recap: Revolution 4 - 1 CF Montreal

On the heels of clinching a third consecutive trip to the MLS Cup Playoffs, the Revolution made the trek north of the border to Stade Saputo for the first time since May of 2019 as they took on CF Montreal.

The Revs looked to extend their five-game unbeaten streak while looking to continue their hot streak on the road. The Revs held an 8-3-3 road record entering Wednesday’s match and were tied with Seattle for most road wins in 2021.

Thanks to Adam Buksa, the Revs clinched a playoff spot after picking up a 2-1 win over Orlando City at home on Saturday. Montreal looked to bounce back after suffering a 2-1 defeat on the road to the Columbus Crew on Saturday.

No changes were made to the starting lineup from Saturday as the Revs looked to enter the international break on a good note.

The Revs backline was shaky in the 7th minute after a failed clearance led to a good offensive chance for Romell Quioto. Luckily for Matt Turner and the Revs backline, Quioto’s shot was wide left of the post and rolled out for a goal kick.

DeJuan Jones was quick to silence the crowd at Stade Saputo as he found the back of the net for his third goal of the season in the 10th minute.

Brandon Bye initiated the Revs offensive chance by driving the ball down the right side of the pitch. Bye sent a cross into the box where it deflected off Kamal Miller. MVP favorite Carles Gil read the deflection and positioned himself just outside the 6-yard box. Pantemis would deny the close-range shot as it deflected off the keeper’s legs and into the box. An alert Jones took advantage of the lack of coverage as the deflected ball fell right to him as he slotted it home.

Buksa bagged a Revs-leading 13th goal in the 17th minute after getting on the end of a beautiful Gustavo Bou cross.

Similar to the first goal, the Revs offensive chance began with Bye driving down the right side of the pitch. Bye would execute a back pass to an open Bou. Bou took a moment as he squared up the ball and sent a cross into the box. Buksa used his size as an advantage as he lept over Joel Waterman with ease and headed the ball into the back of the net.

Things may be awkward in the Canadian locker room between Samuel Piette and Tajon Buchanan this upcoming international period after Piette received a yellow card in the 26^th minute after clipping Buchanan.

CF Montreal’s luck worsened in the 30^th minute as Bou’s cross intended for Buksa would take a deflection off midfielder Joaquín Torres and past Pantemis into the back of the net. Torres would avenge his mistake just two minutes later as he put the ball into the back of the correct net in the 32^nd minute.

Torres brought the ball atop the 18-yard box where he proceeded to slice and dice Tommy McNamara and pulled a shot from just outside the box. Torres’ shot would sail past a diving Turner and into the bottom right corner of the net.

Gil looked to tack on an additional assist in the 36^th minute as he sent a through ball upfield to the path of Bou. Bou looked to get on to the ball, but Pantemis had other plans as he dove onto the ball. Bou received a yellow card in the 58^th minute after chopping Joaquín Torres.

The Revs backline got extremely lucky in the 65th minute as a low cross missed two Montreal attackers inside the box. Up 3-1, the Revs were fortunate Montreal failed to make it 3-2 on what would have been an easy tap-in for CF Montreal.

The first Revolution substitutions came in the 79th minute as Wilfried Kaptoum and Luis Caicedo would come on for McNamara and Buchanan.

After a string of minor injuries and bad luck, Bou turned his tides in the 86^th minute as he was able to get on to Kaptoum’s through ball into open space and slotted the ball past Pantemis and into the far corner of the net.

After a quick VAR check to see if Bou had been offside during the lead-up, the goal was confirmed and gave the Revs a demanding 4-1 lead in the 88th minute. Bou’s goal would propel him to 13 on the year and tied with previous goal scorer Buksa.

The Revs extended their unbeaten run to six games. The Revs also extended their road record to 9-3-3 on the year.

The Revs will have some time to recuperate these next few weeks as their next game isn’t until October 16th as they host the Chicago Fire.

However, some names will continue to work as they enter international duty. Turner is the only confirmed name, but expect Buchanan and Buksa to receive call-ups for their respective national teams.