Prince Owusu’s quick double lifts CF Montréal past FC Cincinnati 3-1

A tie that vanished almost immediately

For nearly an hour, Montréal had the only goal and much of the comfort that came with it. Ríos put the home side ahead in the 25th minute, finishing with his left foot from the centre of the box into the bottom-right corner. It was the kind of direct chance Montréal needed in a match that would eventually ask a lot of its defending.

Cincinnati finally drew level in the 64th when Tom Barlow scored from very close range, finishing Gerardo Valenzuela’s assist to make it 1-1. At that point, the game looked ready to turn into a late test of composure for a Montréal side that had spent long stretches without the ball.

Instead, the equalizer only sharpened the home side. Montréal restored the lead in the 72nd minute when Owusu converted a penalty with his left foot into the bottom-left corner. Three minutes later, he struck again, this time from the centre of the box into the bottom-right corner after a feed from Ríos. What had been a tense draw was suddenly a two-goal Montréal advantage, built with ruthless efficiency.

Montréal made the cleaner moments count

Cincinnati controlled more of the ball, finishing at 54.6 per cent possession, and produced more volume almost everywhere that usually suggests territorial pressure. The visitors attempted 18 shots to Montréal’s 15, earned six corners to Montréal’s four and completed 470 passes. On paper, that is enough attacking traffic to leave with more than one goal.

But the numbers also explain why Montréal deserved the result. The home side put five shots on target compared with Cincinnati’s four and scored three times from those five efforts on frame. Cincinnati’s extra possession never translated into enough precision in the final action. Barlow supplied one finish, but the visitors could not find a second breakthrough even with more entries and more shot attempts.

Montréal’s defensive work underpinned that difference. Sébastian Breza made three saves, and the team around him contributed 27 clearances, 10 interceptions and five blocked shots. Those are not glamorous numbers, but they describe a side that absorbed pressure without letting the match tilt out of reach. Cincinnati, by contrast, recorded only 15 clearances and five interceptions while giving up the sharper finishing chances when the game was there to be won.

Owusu and Ríos delivered the decisive edge

Owusu will own the headline, and rightly so. He finished with two goals, three shots on target and four attempts overall, turning a level game into a decisive Montréal win. One finish came from the spot, the other from open play, and that mix matters: he gave Montréal both the nerve to reclaim the lead and the poise to extend it before Cincinnati could reset.

Ríos was nearly as important. His first-half goal established the match on Montréal’s terms, and his assist on Owusu’s second goal capped a productive night in which he recorded three shots. Between them, Ríos and Owusu accounted for all three Montréal goals and provided the combination play Cincinnati could not quite match often enough.

For Cincinnati, Barlow’s line was busy but incomplete. He scored once and put three of his five shots on target, making him the visitors’ clearest danger. Valenzuela added the assist on the equalizer, but the rest of Cincinnati’s attacking work was spread out rather than decisive. Eighteen shots and 23 crosses can look imposing, yet without a second clean finish they became background to Montréal’s far more damaging stretches.

Our take: the result rewarded clarity, not control

This was one of those MLS results that reminds you possession can shape a match without deciding it. Cincinnati had more of the ball and more total shots, but Montréal were cleaner in the moments that mattered. The home side’s five shots on target produced three goals; Cincinnati’s four on target produced one. That is the match in a sentence.

If Montréal want to build on this kind of performance, the encouraging sign is that they won without monopolizing the game. They defended in numbers, protected Breza well enough that he needed only three saves, and got finishing from their most dangerous attackers. The area to watch is whether they can avoid inviting so much volume again; 18 opposition shots is still a heavy defensive workload even in a victory.

For Cincinnati, the route to improvement is less mysterious than the scoreline feels. The visitors moved the ball well, held a majority of possession and generated attempts, but they lacked the cutting edge Montréal found after the hour. When one team needs 18 shots for one goal and the other scores three on five efforts on target, the issue is not control. It is what happens when the opening finally arrives. On this night, Montréal were sharper, harsher and fully worth the points.

Scoring moments

1. Period 1 · 25'

   Daniel Ríos scored for CF Montréal in minute 25.

2. Period 2 · 64'

   Tom Barlow scored for FC Cincinnati in minute 64. The assist went to Gerardo Valenzuela.

3. Period 2 · 72'

   Prince Owusu scored for CF Montréal in minute 72.

4. Period 2 · 75'

   Prince Owusu scored for CF Montréal in minute 75. The assist went to Daniel Ríos.