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This wasn’t a vintage Alouettes performance Saturday night. And yet, the team lost by only two points, on the road at Saskatchewan, against one of the Canadian Football League’s stronger clubs.

And that provides head coach Khari Jones with much optimism as the Als prepare for Saturday’s home game against the West Division-leading Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Only six regular-season games will remain following the weekend contest.

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“I have a lot of faith in them, and I think we have the makings of a very good team here,” Jones said after Tuesday’s practice — the first of the week. “It’s still early in the process and I have to temper myself sometimes. I feel like we have something special, but it takes time to build that.”

Photo by Mark Taylor / THE CANADIAN PRESS

Montreal saw a three-game winning streak ended by the Roughriders in Saturday’s 27-25 loss at Mosaic Stadium. Not only did the defeat leave the Als with a 6-5 record, they squandered an opportunity to gain on first-place Hamilton, which lost earlier in the day at Calgary, and maintains a six-point lead. Montreal still has a game in hand on the Tiger-Cats, who are on a three-game road swing through Western Canada.