CF Montréal returned to winning ways as they played visitors in their temporary home. Bjørn Johnsen scored two early goals and the club held strong after a 140-minute weather delay to hand Inter Miami CF a 2-0 defeat at DRV PNK Stadium.
For Montréal, it was a return to their early scoring ways from the start of the season. After only 14 minutes of play, Johnsen opened his account at his new club. The Norwegian international outran Leandro González Pirez toward the left side of the box to catch Djordje Mihalovic's through ball. Johnsen did not miss his opportunity to break the deadlock and dampen the Inter Miami fans in attendance.
The well-traveled striker did not stop there. It only took him 11 minutes to notch his second goal of the season thanks to teammate Romell Quioto's individual effort. The Honduran paced through the left flank to the end line and González Pirez failed to stop him crossing back for Johnsen who tapped the ball onto the far post and in to give Montréal a 2-0 lead.
Montréal's depth was put to the test in the first half as head coach Wilfried Nancy was forced to substitute Mihalovic off due to an injury. And then the patience of all involved was tested by a weather delay that brought the game to a halt after the 47th minute as lightning strikes were seen in the area.
More than two hours later, Miami held an aggressive pace following the restart but Montréal held strong and gave goalkeeper James Pantemis his first clean sheet. The young goalkeeper collected his second career win, both against Miami.
Three Things
THE BIG PICTURE: CF Montréal tested their depth with a rotated squad and lived up to the task. Wilfried Nancy’s team made their mark early on thanks to Bjørn Johnsen and held strong after the weather delay. On their end, Inter Miami CF wanted to surprise the visitors with an aggressive pace after the restart but weren’t to pull off the comeback. Phil Neville’s squad now find themselves winless in their past three games.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Bjørn Johnsen took 14 minutes to break the deadlock and open his CF Montréal account. The Norwegian shocked the Miami crowd with the early goal
MAN OF THE MATCH: Clément Bayiha played the best game of his short MLS career on the right flank. The homegrown player who was filling in for the injured Zachary Brault-Guillard provided the offensive flair as well as solid defensive work to keep the clean sheet.
Up next
MIA: Sunday, May 16 at FC Cincinnati | 7pm ET (FOX, FOX Deportes)*
MTL:* Saturday, May 15 at Atlanta United | 7pm ET (MLS Live on ESPN+, TVA Sports, TSN4)
