MONTREAL 鈥� Marco Donadel believes CF Montreal showed progress despite settling for a 1-1 draw after taking a first-half lead against the Columbus Crew on Wednesday.
Montreal ranks last in the Eastern Conference and was coming off its first win in a trying season. Columbus, meanwhile, is third in the East and perennially contends for the MLS title.
That's how he framed the result to his players post-game.
鈥淓verybody was super, super, super sad in the locker, and we tied against Columbus, which is the best or one of the best teams in the league,鈥� the interim head coach said. 鈥淚t means that we are building something.鈥�
Luca Petrasso scored the opening goal 鈥� his first in MLS 鈥� in the 29th minute for Montreal (1-8-4), which won 1-0 at New York City FC last Saturday.
Canadian international Jacen Russell-Rowe, however, replied in the second half for Columbus (7-1-5), led by former Montreal coach Wilfried Nancy. The Crew rested top scorer Diego Rossi and midfielder Sean Zawadzki.
Petrasso nevertheless echoed his coach's words after the match.
"We know Columbus is one of the best teams in the league, if not the best team in the league,鈥� he said. 鈥淥bviously we have to learn and get better at closing out games like that, especially at home.
鈥淏ut I think with the amount of games that we have coming up we'll take that point, especially at home against Columbus.鈥�
Not everyone felt the same.
鈥淲e know it鈥檚 a match we could have won,鈥� midfielder Nathan Saliba said. 鈥淲e know we have to win matches like that, so yeah, I wouldn鈥檛 say that we鈥檙e happy with the point.鈥�
Donadel earned his first MLS victory Saturday in his seventh regular-season match since the club fired Laurent Courtois on March 24. Montreal also avoided a 12th consecutive match without a win to start an MLS season, which would have set a new league record.
Petrasso carried the brief momentum and gave Montreal a 1-0 lead with a beautiful goal at Stade Saputo.
Fabian Herbers crossed from the right side of the pitch into the box before Caden Clark played decoy, letting the ball roll to Owusu.
The German forward then faked a shot and played a back-heel to Petrasso, who exploded into the box and blasted a low shot past Crew 鈥榢eeper Patrick Schulte.
"Special moment for sure, kind of had those dreams or pictures in my mind, scoring a goal like that,鈥� Petrasso said. 鈥淪omething I've been trying to add to my game, getting into the box, getting to those areas.
鈥淕ood play from Caden and Prince."
Petrasso has started in all but one MLS match this season. The 24-year-old from Toronto has become a mainstay at left back, something he says is a surprise after what he described as a difficult past couple of years at Orlando SC.
The younger brother of Michael Petrasso, who played for Montreal in 2018, also suited up for Toronto FC in 2022.
鈥淚 didn't think it would go this well. To be honest, it's quite a shock for me, the way I've been playing,鈥� he said. 鈥淚've definitely had the belief in myself, but never kind of pictured it going so well like this personally, the way I've been playing and adapting and living here and enjoying my football again.
鈥淚 came in at the beginning and pre-season to prove myself."
Toronto native Russell-Rowe tied the game in the 63rd minute, capitalizing on a blunder from Dawid Bugaj for his fifth MLS goal of the season.
Montreal鈥檚 right back played the ball to an awkward area to force 鈥榢eeper Jonathan Sirois well out of the box for a sliding clearance. Russell-Rowe blocked the attempt before slotting the ball into an empty net.
Donadel believed a lot of things went wrong on the play and said Bugaj, who was noticeably disappointed after the goal, shouldn鈥檛 shoulder the blame.
"When there is a goal conceded with a mistake, there are always many mistakes,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no reaction from the centre back, there鈥檚 a tackle later on the 鈥榢eeper, we can鈥檛 arrive first on the ball. There鈥檚 10 mistakes.鈥�
Saliba said decision-making with a one-goal lead against one of MLS鈥檚 best was tricky.
"We know we can create more, and at the same time you don't want to force something and create a counterattack for them," he said. 鈥淲e were unlucky on that pass.鈥�
Sirois denied Russell-Rowe a brace in the 82nd when he stretched out his arms to make a miraculous save with the Columbus forward just metres from the goal.
The Crew led with 14 shots to four for Montreal, including four to two on target, while holding 58 per cent of possession.
Petrasso鈥檚 goal woke up the crowd in an otherwise quiet first half.
The opening 45 minutes featured seven shot attempts 鈥� five from Columbus, two from Montreal 鈥� and one shot on-target from each side.
UP NEXT
Montreal: Hosts Toronto FC in a rivalry match Saturday.
Columbus: Hosts Eastern Conference-leading FC Cincinnati on Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2025.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
