CF Montreal v Orlando City SC: Miami comeback showed visitors' true colours, says Ojeda

Martin Ojeda believes that Orlando City SC's stunning second-half comeback against Inter Miami was a true representation of the team after their stuttering start to the season.

Orlando were 3-0 down inside the opening 33 minutes as Ian Fray, Telasco Segovia and Lionel Messi put the MLS Cup champions on the cusp of a first win at Nu Stadium.

Ojeda pulled one back for the Lions six minutes before the break, and completed his hat-trick with a 78th-minute penalty after notching his brace 10 minutes earlier.

And the win was sealed in the 93rd minute by Tyrese Spicer, handing Orlando just their third victory of the campaign and moving them up to 13th in the Eastern Conference.

Martin Perelman's side are in action against CF Montreal this weekend, a side one place and one point behind them, and Ojeda urged his team to build on last week's heroics.

"I enjoy those moments. I like those moments," Ojeda said. "From when I was a kid, I was prepared for those and trained for those. I never feel pressure in those moments.

"There's a huge emotion that I feel within that's inexplicable, because, you know, the way that we came out in the first half, it wasn't us.  

"We fell behind. And I think it showed going into half-time, and then in the second half, we came out, we showed who we can be as a team."

Martín Ojeda has joined Cyle Larin and Facundo Torres as the only Lions to hit 40 goals pic.twitter.com/ZZnqPGUdT5

— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) May 6, 2026

Montreal, meanwhile, suffered their first defeat under the guidance of Philippe Eullaffroy in their last MLS encounter following a 3-1 defeat away to fellow strugglers Atlanta United.

Eullaffroy had won his first two games against the New York Red Bulls and New York City FC, and his team got off to a fast start when they opened the scoring in the sixth minute.

However, Atlanta roared back with three quickfire goals either side of half-time, though Eullaffroy believed there were still plenty of positives to take from the defeat.

"Even in the previous two wins, there were some things to improve. We created chances, but the efficiency was not there," Eullaffroy said.

"Some things are better understood, and the first pressure markers are well constructed. It still requires a lot of work, but we are moving in the right direction.

"The reaction and the mentality of not giving up in the second half was interesting. There is disappointment. Amplified by the fact that we could have managed situations better."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Montreal – Prince Owusu

Owusu set up Matty Longstaff for Montreal's only goal against Atlanta on Saturday, his fifth assist to go along with six goals.

He is one of two players, along with San Diego FC's Anders Dreyer (five goals, six assists), with at least five goals and five assists this season.

Orlando – Martin Ojeda

Ojeda scored his second career hat-trick for Orlando last time out, as he and Cyle Larin (also two) are the only players to score a treble in the Lions' MLS history.

Three of the four hat-tricks scored by Orlando players in regular-season matches were scored on the road.

MATCH PREDICTION: MONTREAL WIN

Montreal have won two consecutive regular-season home matches after winning only two of their previous 18 at home in league play (D6 L10). Their only other set of consecutive home wins since the start of the 2024 season was a four-match run from September 2024 to April 2025.

However, Orlando are unbeaten in seven straight meetings with Montreal (W3 D4), though both meetings in Montreal in that time were drawn. This weekend's hosts have not lost at home against the Lions since the start of the 2022 season (W3 D2).

But Perelman's side will be hoping for an easier ride this time around, having come from 3-0 down to defeat Inter Miami 4-3, becoming the third team in MLS history to win a match in which they trailed by three goals and the first to do so on the road.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Montreal – 49.7%

Draw – 23.6%

Orlando – 26.7%