Prince Owusu's Early Goal Lifts CF Montréal Past New York City FC 1-0

Prince Owusu needed one touch, and it was barely even a touch. In the 18th minute Matty Longstaff whipped in a cross, Owusu got a toe to it, and that was the only thing that went in all afternoon at Stade Saputo.

CF Montréal beat New York City FC 1-0 on Saturday, holding on through 64.7 percent New York possession and a late flurry of cards to collect their first back-to-back wins of the season. NYCFC had the ball, the passes and, after Tayvon Gray's 77th-minute sending-off, one man fewer. What they did not have was a goal, and they are now six matches without a win.

Montréal Come Out Swinging

For a team with two wins coming into the day, Montréal played the opening stretch like a side that had forgotten it was supposed to be nervous. Brayan Vera tested Matt Freese from distance in the 3rd minute, Iván Jaime forced a save with a header off a Longstaff cross in the 7th, and Noah Streit had a go from outside the box in the 9th. Freese handled all three, but the message was clear.

New York's first real look came in the 15th minute, when Nicolás Fernández tested Thomas Gillier from the right side of the box.

Three minutes later, Montréal struck. Longstaff delivered the cross, and Owusu poked a right-footed finish from very close range into the bottom left corner. The NYCFC recap described it as a toe-poke diversion past Freese, which is about as unglamorous as goals get. The table does not care.

Longstaff nearly made it a two-assist half in the 24th minute, teeing up Victor Loturi for a shot from the edge of the box that slid just wide.

The Visitors Take Over

After that, New York City spent most of the game in Montréal's half without finding much. Pascal Jansen had made two changes from the midweek 4-4 draw with Cincinnati, per the club, bringing in Keaton Parks and Arnau Farnós for Raul Gustavo and Hannes Wolf. The ball moved well. The final pass did not.

Maxi Moralez turned inside his marker early in the second half and dragged a shot wide from the center of the box in the 47th minute. A minute later, Fernández went down in the area and New York thought it had a penalty, but the club said the play was flagged offside, and ESPN logged Fernández offside in the 48th. Farnós saw a shot from outside the box blocked in the 56th after a long Thiago Martins ball sent him through, and the deflection dropped to Gillier, per the club.

Jansen went to his bench all at once in the 65th minute, sending on Gustavo, Seymour Reid and Talles Magno for Parks, Agustín Ojeda and Farnós.

Ten Men, One Chance

The game's temperature rose from there. Samuel Piette had already been booked for Montréal in the 63rd minute, and then Gray picked up two yellow cards in three minutes. The first came in the 74th, the second in the 77th, and NYCFC were down to 10.

Somehow, that is when New York created its best chance. Reid pounced on a Montréal mistake, according to the club, drove at goal and squared for Talles Magno, whose shot from the middle of the box in the 80th minute went straight at Gillier.

The last 10 minutes turned into a card festival. Fernández and Olger Escobar were booked in the 81st, Vera in the 84th, Longstaff in the 87th and Dawid Bugaj in the 88th. Kai Trewin went into the book in stoppage time. Through six minutes of added time, Montréal kept New York at arm's length, and Freese had to save one more Jaime effort from long range to keep the margin at one.

Who Delivered

Prince Owusu scored the winner with his only shot of the game, which is the most efficient striker afternoon imaginable. He came off in the 75th minute for Daniel Ríos.

Matty Longstaff assisted the goal, set up Loturi's near miss and created Jaime's early header. He was the most dangerous creator on the field.

Matt Freese made four saves and kept NYCFC in it on a day his team needed a second chance it never got.

Thomas Gillier only had to make two saves, but the Magno stop in the 80th was the one that mattered most.

Iván Jaime was Montréal's most persistent attacker, with three shots and two on target.

The Turning Point

Gray's second yellow in the 77th minute should have ended New York's hopes, and in the end it did. But the more telling moment was Magno's chance three minutes later. A team that had dominated the ball finally got a clean look, a numerical disadvantage be damned, and put it right at the goalkeeper. That has been the story of NYCFC's spring in miniature: lots of the ball, not enough finishing.

Stats That Matter

• Possession: New York City had 64.7 percent and completed 555 passes to Montréal's 277.
• Shots: Montréal took 8 shots and put 5 on target. NYCFC managed 4 shots and 2 on target.
• Saves: Freese made four, Gillier two.
• Discipline: Montréal were booked five times. New York collected two yellows and Gray's red.

What It Means

Montréal move to 3-0-6 with nine points. After losing six of their first seven, they have now beaten Red Bull New York 4-1 and New York City FC 1-0 in consecutive home games. That is the first time this season they have strung two wins together, and the defense held firm without needing heroics. Next up is a trip to Atlanta United on May 2.

New York City drop to 3-3-4 with 12 points. Counting from the season results, they have not won since a 3-1 victory over Colorado on March 14, going 0-2-4 in the six matches since. A team that started with three wins in its first four games now has bigger questions to answer. The Red Bulls are up next in the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, which at least offers a change of competition and a chance to remember what winning feels like.

Closing Take

Montréal ran the oldest play in the book: score early, defend in numbers and let the other team pass it sideways until the clock runs out. Possession is supposed to be nine-tenths of the law. In Montréal on Saturday, it was worth exactly zero points.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Additional details from NYCFC.com and CFMontreal.com.