Wilfried Nancy 'proud' of CF Montreal players after Atlanta United comeback
By Chris Smith
CF Montreal coach Wilfried Nancy has revealed how 'proud' he is of his players as they closed out the busy recent schedule with a 2-1 win over Atlanta United.
Playing their seventh game in three weeks across all competitions, Montreal came from 1-0 down to beat the Five Stripes 2-1 on Saturday. Within seven minutes of Jake Mulraney's opener, a Romell Quioto brace gave the Canadian side an ultimately unassailable lead.
It was the perfect way for Montreal to bounce back from consecutive defeats to the Columbus Crew and New England Revolution, lifting them back into sixth in the East with just six regular-season games to go.
Speaking to reporters after Saturday's match (via the Coast Reporter), Nancy spoke of the pride he felt in his players being able to overcome the physical and mental rigours of such a packed schedule.
“I’m really proud and happy with the whole team and the staff after this run of games,” he said. “You see them run but you forget the mental toll these games take, and the fact that they stayed focus the whole way through was great.”
On his team's performance, Nancy added: “This result wasn’t a lucky one, this was earned with hard work.
“We’re a team that likes to have possession and control the flow of the game and that’s not something you have when defending a lead. So it was good to see that side of them come out today.”
Speaking further to Montreal's mentality, playmaker Djordje Mihailovic credited his team's ability to bounce back quickly from Mulraney's opening strike.
“These kinds of situations are all mental. The first five minutes after a team scores is very important,” said the United States international. “We got on the front foot right after the (second-half) kickoff and we were able to put them on the back foot and press until we got two goals.”
Up next for Montreal is another key clash in the tightly-packed Eastern Conference playoff race, hosting the Philadelphia Union on Saturday.