Montreal, Nashville play to scoreless draw

MONTREAL — There was nothing to separate CF Montreal and Nashville SC as the two sides played to a scoreless draw in Major League Soccer action at Stade Saputo on Saturday night.

Montreal (3-4-7) ended a five-game losing streak in MLS while Nashville (3-7-4) continued its unbeaten run under interim manager Rumba Munthali.

There was a cautious pace to the majority of the first half as Montreal looked to gradually grow into the game and Nashville employed its usual conservative style of play. Both teams shared stints of possession without finding any real zone penetration until the half-hour mark.

While trying to build out of the back, Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois misplayed a pass that left Sam Surridge with an open net. The Nashville striker would have opened the scoring if not for a dramatic goal line clearance from Joel Waterman.

Just seven minutes later, it was Montreal’s turn to have its best scoring opportunity of the half as Mathieu Choinière played Jules-Anthony Vilsaint in and forced a strong save from Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis.

Montreal began the second half controlling more of the match and winning the ball high up the field. Despite a few half-chances, there was no breakthrough to be found from either side until the last kick of the game.

Dominic Iankov found some breathing room in Nashville’s penalty area, only for his close-range shot to be blocked by Jack Maher as the final whistle blew.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 25, 2024.

Elias Grigoriadis, The Canadian Press