CF Montréal defeat New England thanks to late winner by George Campbell

The New England Revolution (12-7-5, 43 pts.) were defeated 1-0 in an MLS match versus CF Montréal (11-2-12, 35 pts.) on Saturday night.

The match kicked off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Saputo Stadium in Montréal, Québec, Canada to a crowd of 19,619.

How we’re lining up tonight!

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) August 26, 2023

The team started their lineup in a 4-3-3 formation with Earl Edwards Jr. starting in net with a backline of (left back) Ryan Spaulding, (center backs) Dave Romney, and Omar Gonzalez, along with (right back) Matt Polster. The midfield spots were manned by Ian Harkes (left midfield), Mark-Anthony Kaye (right midfield), and Carles Gil (central attacking midfield). The forward roles were manned by Damian Rivera (left wing), Noel Buck (right wing), and Giacomo Vrioni as the lone striker.

Earl Edwards Jr., Omar Gonzalez, and Damian Rivera are making their 2nd league starts of 2023.

Matt Polster starts at right back for the first time since he left Rangers in 2020.

Midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye is making his official MLS debut with the Revolution.

Forward Tomas Chancalay is available on the bench for a potential MLS debut.

Forward Gustavo Bou and defenders Andrew Farrell and DeJuan Jones missed today’s match due to leg injuries. Bou’s current timetable is 4 weeks, Farrell and Jones’ is to be determined.

These guys

Watch FREE on @AppleTV: https://t.co/MoaIJ9FmHK#MLSSeasonPass | #MTLvNE 0-0 pic.twitter.com/PnUbiHnmM2

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) August 26, 2023

The match began with New England starting from the center circle. Forward Giacomo Vrioni played the ball backwards to midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye, who elected to play the ball long up the left wing towards Damian Rivera.

New England had the first moment of the match in the 5th minute when winger Damian Rivera’s right-footed shot went just wide of the right post of the CF Montréal goal.

Entering the 25th minute, Revolution midfielder Matt Polster was issued a yellow card for a foul on CF Montréal midfielder #10 Bryce Duke.

As the match entered the 30th minute, Revolution midfielder Carles Gil took an effort from roughly 50-yards out after he saw CF Montréal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois far out of his box and managed to strike the crossbar.

After the 45+2 minutes, the match entered halftime with the scoreline level at 0-0.

Level at the half. Another 45' to go! #NERevs | @SantanderBankUS pic.twitter.com/2MSo0WfmfE

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) August 27, 2023

The second half of the match began with CF Montréal midfielder #10 Bryce Duke starting from the center of the pitch. He played the ball to defender #16 James Waterman, who played the ball directly up the right side of the field.

Bienvenido Chanca pic.twitter.com/tQAx4qs4Fj

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) August 27, 2023

In the 61st minute, Revolution head coach Richie Williams made his first two changes of the match by substituting midfielders Damian Rivera and Noel Buck and replacing them with midfielder Emmanuel Boateng and forward Tomas Chancalay.

This is Chancalay’s official MLS Debut.

The first moment of the match came in the 63rd minute when CF Montréal midfielder #29 Mathieu Choinière took a right footed shot that went just wide of the right post.

In the 72nd minute, Revolution head coach Richie Williams made his first third change of the match by substituting forward Giacomo Vrioni and replacing him with forward Bobby Wood.

Less than 1 minute later, CF Montréal defender #25 Gabriele Corbo uncorked a right footed shot that went just over the right crossbar.

As the match entered the 76th minute, CF Montréal continued their offensive threat to New England when #14 Sunusi Ibrahim’s effort was met by a saved by Revolution goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr.

Less than 1 minute later, Revolution defender Dave Romney made a last-ditch slide tackle to thwart #90 Kwadwo Opoku from scoring from close range.

Entering the 86th minute, CF Montréal gained the 1-0 lead.

In the final minutes, @cfmontreal find the back of the net.

The bell has been rung in Montreal. pic.twitter.com/eeP7fKbiui

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 27, 2023

Midfielder Mathieu Choinière #29 played a ball down the right side of the field to find midfielder Lassi Lappalainen #21. His right-footed cutback pass found defender #24 George Campbell for the right footed shot that went into the far bottom left corner past Revolution goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. for the 1-0 advantage. The goal is Campbell’s 1st of the year.

In the 88th minute, Revolution head coach Richie Williams made his first fourth and final change of the match by substituting midfielder Ian Harkes and replacing him with midfielder Nacho Gil.

After the 90+6 minutes, the match ended with CF Montréal holding onto the 1-0 win.

Final. #NERevs | @SantanderBankUS pic.twitter.com/c5DON71JGm

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) August 27, 2023

The New England Revolution (12-7-5, 43 pts.) return to Foxborough, Massachusetts to face the New York Red Bulls (7-8-10, 29 pts.) in an MLS Match on Wednesday, August 30th. The match kicks off in Gillette Stadium at 7:30 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.

(Editor’s Note:  For more of Burt Granofsky’s photos, click on the link)