Football can be a real humbling experience. After flying high and finally getting recognition for being the hottest team in Major League Soccer, things came crashing back down to earth Wednesday night in Cincinnati.

CF Montréal had their six-match unbeaten run snapped with a 3-0 loss in southern Ohio.

It took the hosts less than two minutes to get on the board.

That own goal surely kept Joel Waterman up late Wednesday night, if the Canadian international slept at all.

“We start by giving them a goal on a stopped phase after one minute,” CFM head coach Hernán Losada said. “When you give a goal like that at the beginning of the game, it’s a completely different match and everything becomes more difficult.”

The hosts were simply the hungrier side Wednesday night, and Cincy’s second goal was the perfect example of that. After forcing a turnover in midfield, Luciano Acosta was not going to let his team’s chance to double the lead go to waste.

Acosta has netted three goals already this season.

“It’s a shame because we were well prepared, we came here with the right mentality,” Losada said. “Even at half-time, the match was not over. We made three changes to be able to return to the game, because at 2-0 everything is possible, but after the third goal, the game was over and we started thinking much more about Saturday’s game.”

For good measure, Brandon Vazquez buried one in front of the standing supporters’ terrace to send the home crowd into a frenzy.

“It is true that we lost a lot of balls near our 16 metres and took a lot of unnecessary risks, especially against a team with so much offensive quality,” Losada said.

Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano finished with five saves to earn the clean sheet for the hosts. CFM keeper Jonathan Sirois stopped two shots for Montreal.

The win moves Cincinnati three points up on the idle New England Revolution atop the Eastern Conference standings.

Cincinnati is just the sixth team in league history to win its first seven games at home. The Philadelphia Union did it previously, having won nine in a row in 2020. Cincinnati entered play unbeaten at home with six one-goal wins — the first team in league history to do so. Head coach Pat Noonan must’ve been very happy to see his side bag three against a very in-form Montréal.

Montréal have no time to sit around and complain. They’re back at it Saturday night in New Jersey when they face the New York Red Bulls.