CF Montreal comes home after six on the road

After an unusual start to the MLS season, CF Montreal will be in front of their home fans on Saturday night to take on Cincinnati FC.

With the Olympic Stadium unavailable indefinitely, fans will see their team play at the Saputo Stadium after six straight games to start the season.

The first 7,500 fans will receive a bottle and every fan hopes the bell rang after a Montreal CF goal.

“We are very happy that our team is ahead of us for the first time this season,” said CF Montreal fan Simon Willem. “I'm sure people will go all out when it comes to support, their support and their songs.”

A six hole road game to begin

New manager Laurent Courtois said the first six games on the road had given the team a chance to bond and grow as a team.

“It's been hard, but it's been great,” he said.

Montreal started the season on a positive note, with a tie and two wins against Orlando, Dallas and Miami, but then dropped three straight against Chicago, D.C. and Seattle.

Did the so-called “Windy City Miracle” Chicago loss end so awkwardly with a pass by Chicago quarterback Kellyn Acosta? shoot? lobe? Illinois caught the wind behind the midfield line and bounced past the outstretched arms of Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois in the 98th minute to seal the come-from-behind victory.

Montreal led 3-1 after 70 minutes and lost 4-3.

Dominik Yankov's goal in that game was the last goal Montreal scored after the team lost against DC (1-0) and Seattle (5-0).

The team is ready for the game at home.

“I think it will be good to be back in front of our fans,” Sirois said. “It gives us that little boost, motivation and energy that we need.”

New faces

In addition to Courtois, CF Montreal signed a host of new players, including Uruguayan Matias Coccaro, attacking midfielder Jankov and former MLS MVP and Golden Boot winner Josef Martinez.

Coccaro leads the team with three goals.

Wing-backs Raheem Edwards and Ruane have also joined the squad.

With additions came subtractions, with forward Romell Kyoto, winger Aaron Herrera and right back Zachary Braul-Guillard leaving the team.

Difficult opener

FC Cincinnati finished the last regular season at the top of MLS and captured the team's first Supporters' Shield.

“Opening a house is not easy. FC Cincinnati is one of the best teams in MLS,” TSN 690 radio announcer John Steele said.

That said, the crowd will still be a factor.

“The fans at CF Montreal were amazing,” he said. “Going back to last season, they knew how important it is to take into account how bad a team is away from home. They learned last year how important it is to get behind their players, and I expect the same this season.”

Messi effect

Superstar Lionel Messi's arrival in Miami has sparked a ticket frenzy in MLS and Montreal.

The team sold season tickets for the first time.

“We should be happy, and we are,” Courtois said. “I hope it won't be too heavy handed and we'll skip a few steps of what we're agreeing to.”

“If we can build some kind of stronghold and make it difficult for teams to come in here and get any points, I think it's going to be really fun for us,” Sirois said.

It starts at 19:30