On a night when it honored all-time goals leader Ignacio Piatti, CF Montreal used first-half goals from Caden Clark and Bryce Duke to end a four-match winless streak, defeating visiting Charlotte FC 2-1 on Saturday.
Raheem Edwards added an assist as Montreal (7-12-9, 30 points), who entered 0-3-1 in its last four matches and losers of its last three, claimed its first win since July 13.
Charlotte (10-10-8, 38 points) is winless in its last five matches (0-2-3). Its last victory came on July 13, a 3-1 win over FC Cincinnati.
Montreal, needing a win to boost its fading playoff chances, took the lead in the 23rd minute through Clark. A helter-skelter sequence in front of goal saw Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina come off his line to make an initial save, but Clark scored into an open net to make it 1-0.
Moments later, it was 2-0, as Duke deposited a well-timed cross from Edwards past Kahlina and into the net as Montreal doubled its advantage in the 26th minute.
Charlotte, though, found a lifeline in the 35th minute as it made it 2-1 on a set piece routine. A free kick from Ashley Westwood from beyond the left side of the box was met by the head of Tim Ream for his first goal in a Charlotte kit.
Neither team generated many chances through much of the second half as Montreal sought to see out its slim lead, which it eventually did to pick up a much-needed triumph on home soil.
Montreal enjoyed much of the play throughout the evening, taking 14 shots to Charlotte’s 10 — including a dominant 9-1 edge in shots on goal as Charlotte failed to present much of an attack outside of Ream’s tally.
Montreal also held a 59.6-40.4 percent edge in possession.
Kahlina finished with seven saves for Charlotte while Montreal’s Jonathan Sirois was credited with zero saves.
Montreal improved its home record to 5-4-5. Charlotte dropped to 4-7-3 on the road.
–Field Level Media