Atlanta United came back from a two-goal deficit to claim a 2-2 draw with CF Montréal at Stade Saputo on Wednesday night in a game that produced three red cards.
In a match that will surely add fire to future Montréal-Atlanta meetings, Rudy Camacho, Josef Martinez and Victor Wanyama were all ejected. Camacho took down Martinez inside the box to create Atlanta's equalizing penalty. Minutes later, a brawl formed around James Pantemis' net and both star players were given red cards following Video Review.
The action really got going in the second half when Mason Toye shook off his goalscoring drought and broke the ice for Montréal in the 53rd minute. The New Jersey native scored his first since his two-goal performance in the 5-4 win against FC Cincinnati back on July 17. Joaquin Torres broke the defensive line with a pass toward Toye who beat Brad Guzan to net his seventh of the season.
Montréal then took advantage of a marking error on a corner kick to take a two-goal lead in the 63rd minute. Camacho was left on his own near the far post and it gave him more than enough time to volley the ball past Guzan. An emotional Camacho headed to the sidelines to celebrate with his loved ones in attendance.
Atlanta took advantage of the emotion to cut the lead back to one within seconds of Montréal's goal. Ezequiel Barco found Martinez, who was poorly marked by Zorhan Bassong and Miller, and the Venezuelan got to work. Martinez made a quick cutback at the top of the box to get away from his defenders and beat Pantemis with a near-post shot that froze Pantemis in his place.
Atlanta were then handed an opportunity to complete the comeback when Camacho took down Martinez inside the box and was given a red card. Moreno stepped up to the spot and drilled a shot down the middle to bring the Eastern Conference sides level.
But the penalty decision added plenty of spice to the game's final 10 minutes. After a Video Review, Martinez and Wanyama were both given red cards after both players head-butted each other and Wanyama grabbed Martinez's throat.
Goals
Three things
- THE BIG PICTURE: Is this the start of a heated rivalry between CF Montréal and Atlanta United? After an uneventful first half, both teams brought plenty of intensity in the second and some paid the price. For Montréal, this is yet another match where points were left on the table. For their part, Atlanta will channel that emotion in the hopes to kickstart the rest of their season.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Was it a penalty? Was it not? One thing is for sure: it heated up the relationship between Atlanta United and CF Montréal.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: One goal, one drawn penalty and one red card resulted in a most unusual Josef Martinez hat trick. Still, the star striker kept his team in the match after going down 2-0.
Next up:
- MTL: Sunday, August 8 at DC United | 8 pm ET (TVA Sports, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)
- ATL: Saturday, August 7 at Columbus Crew | 7:30 pm ET (MLS LIVE on ESPN+)
