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Prince Owusu Scores Twice as CF Montréal Snaps Skid
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- Prince Owusu Scores Twice as CF Montréal Snaps Skid
Prince Owusu Scores Twice as CF Montréal Snaps Skid
CF Montréal ended a five-game losing streak on Saturday, beating FC Cincinnati 3-1 at Stade Saputo with only five players on the bench — two of them goalkeepers. Prince Owusu scored twice in the second half to seal the win, snapping a seven-game winless run for a Montréal side stripped down by the FIFA international window.
Daniel Ríos opened the scoring in the 25th minute, finishing first-time after Teenage Hadebe 's poor clearance fell into his path. Tom Barlow leveled for Cincinnati in the 64th minute, latching onto a low cross from Gerardo Valenzuela for his tenth goal of the season across all competitions.
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Owusu punishes a costly mistake
The turning point came from a Roman Celentano error. Owusu pressured a backpass, the goalkeeper botched his control and clattered into the forward while trying to clear — a clear penalty. Owusu converted to the left corner in the 72nd minute, then struck again three minutes later, pouncing on a loose ball after Nick Hagglund failed to clear a Luca Petrasso delivery. That made it 3-1 and pushed Owusu to 15 MLS goals this season.
He nearly had a hat-trick late on, but Celentano saved his tight-angle effort. Cincinnati pushed for a way back through Tah Brian Anunga, whose long-range strike went wide, and Montréal held on. CF Montréal finished with 42.6% possession and 15 shots to Cincinnati's 18, with Sébastien Breza making four saves to Celentano's one.
A makeshift lineup finds a way
Nine Montréal players were away on international duty, leaving head coach Philippe Eullaffroy with just Fabian Herbers , Frankie Amaya and Ivan Losenko as outfield options off the bench. That thin margin got thinner in the 11th minute when Brayan Ceballos went down injured and had to be replaced, leaving Montréal with two outfield substitutes for the rest of the match.
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Eullaffroy still opened in an unconventional 3-4-1-2 shape, with Jalen Neal , Brandan Craig and Ceballos across the back three. The plan barely got tested before Ceballos' injury forced a reshuffle, but Montréal still looked more organized than in recent weeks. Neal was central to that — 19 defensive actions, four tackles from four attempts, six of seven ground duels won and three of four aerial duels won.
Cincinnati has no excuse in the international window; Montréal dealt with a far worse squad situation and still won. The result leaves Cincinnati on a six-game winless streak in MLS, with Celentano's mistake compounding a rough stretch for a goalkeeper once on the USMNT radar.
What's next
The win lifts CF Montréal to 24 points, still outside the playoff picture but clear of their worst run of the season. They return from the international break on October 10 away to Toronto FC , then host Atlanta United at Stade Saputo on the 14th. Cincinnati, sitting on 33 points, also waits until October 10 to play again, traveling to face Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
