HARRISON, N.J. – Red Bull New York suffer their first loss of 2026 in a 3-0 destruction at the feet of CF Montreal, made even more painful by the two goals from former midfielder Wiki Carmona. The disjointed effort saw little of the dynamism from the opening two weeks, with mistakes littering nearly every facet of the game for Michal Bradley’s men.
Red Bull looked to start the game quickly but Montreal had other ideas, playing their best defensive game of the early season. They pressed in the midfield physically asserted themselves on the more dangerous players like Cade Cowell. The first start of the season for Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, showed little of the spark that had him score double-digit goals from the previous campaign.
The scoring started early when Justin Che brought down a Montreal player in the box. Prince Owusu stepped up to the spot and converted, giving the French-Canadian club all they needed for the win. From there, they fell into a defensive shell, letting Red Bull attack them on the wings. While there were moments of sharp passing, New York was unable to produce a legitimate effort on goal. Right before the half is when Carmona struck, burying a low free kick from just outside the right end of the 16-yard box.
The second half saw a frustrated New York club push for change but were met with physicality and time-wasting from a Montreal team that knew the clock was on their side. Rafael Mosquera entered the game, replacing Chopo-Moting and giving Julian Hall the ability to return to his natural striker position. It did little to help as Carmona pounced on a poor pass from goalkeeper Ethan Horvath for his second goal of the game, finishing the contest.
The loss was shocking, considering how poor Montreal had played in their previous fixtures. New York was a different story as they lacked all of the creativity from their opener in Orlando and their win over 1-0 win over New England a week ago.
The club now takes to the road to face Toronto FC. Many questions will be asked of players such as Cowell and Jorge Ruvalcaba who have yet to light up the scoresheet. The decision to play Hall in the midfield is also one that showed the depth problems in certain aspects of the roster.
STARTING XI:
Red Bull New York: Horvath; Marshall-Rutty (77′ Valencia), Che, Voloder, Dos Santos (61′ Mina), Hall (85′ Mitchell), Mehmeti, Forsberg, Cowell, Choupo-Moting (61′ Mosquera), Ruvalcaba (86′ Rojas)
CF Montreal: Gillier; Thorhallsson, Aviles, Morales, Vera, Petrasso, Jaime (61′ Streit), Loturi, Longstaff (86′ Escobar), Carmona (81′ Piette), Owusu (61′ Rios)
SCORING SUMMARY:
8′ (CF Montreal) Prince Owusu (1) penalty kick
44′ (CF Montreal) Wiki Carmona (1) unassisted
67′ (CF Montreal) Wiki Carmona (2) unassisted
DISCIPLINE:
50′ (Red Bull New York) Justin Che – YELLOW CARD
