MONTREAL (AP) — Caden Clark had a goal and an assist in the first half, Josef Martínez scored his 11th goal of the season and Montreal beat New York City FC 2-0 on Saturday night to secure a playoff spot.
Montreal (11-13-10) locked up the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference with 43 points and will host No. 9 Atlanta in a wild card match for a chance to meet Inter Miami in round one. It’s Montreal’s second postseason trip since 2016 and first under head coach Laurent Courtois.
Martínez was left wide open at the top of the box for a pass that he let a past him to reach Clark at the back post for a one-time finish in the 18th minute.
Then in first-half stoppage time, Clark had it poked away from behind but he raced down the sideline to track it down. He got inside position on a defender as he dribbled into the box for a rolling pass to Martínez in front of goal for a sliding finish.
NYCFC (14-12-8) will face Cincinnati in a best-of-three series.
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