‘Fantastic comeback,’ Biello says of 3-3 draw
Jackson-Hamel finds net twice
CHESTER, PA. Anthony Jackson Hamel scored his second goal of the game in the 87th minute, rallying the Montreal Impact to a 3-3 draw with the Philadelphia Union on Saturday.
“This was a fantastic comeback,” said Impact head coach Mauro Biello. “You don’t often see a team being down 3-0 on the road and coming back to score those three goals. We dominated the second half, took it to them and were able to get the breakthrough.
“It’s good to come out of here against a conference team with a point.”
Jackson-Hamel replaced Dominic Oduro in the 62nd minute and put away a rebound to tie it.
Matteo Mancuso’s shot from just outside the box had bounced off the arms of a diving Andre Blake. Jackson-Hamel tapped it in from the top of the six-yard box.
Philadelphia (1-4-2) took a 3-0 lead on a penalty kick by Roland Alberg in the 39th minute, his second goal of the game. Alberg evaded a defender and beat Evan Bush from point-blank range in the opening minutes and C.J. Sapong’s header made it 2-0 in the 23rd.
Ignacio Piatti sliced through three defenders before scoring just before halftime, and Jackson Hamel’s header pulled Montreal (2-2-3) within a goal in the 69th minute.
“This is my first brace for the Impact in MLS and that pleases me a lot,” said Jackson-Hamel. “It’s good to follow up on my goalscoring performance from last Saturday with a good game today. I’m glad to be able to contribute to the team’s good results. It’s positive to have players coming on as a sub and contributing.”
In the 81st minute, Bush made a crucial save to give Montreal a chance. Released down the left side, Fafa Picault came straight at Bush, who closed down the angles and denied him a goal.
“We knew what kind of game we were getting into with this team,” said defender Chris Duvall. “They were desperate to get a first win and defend their home turf. We knew it was going to be a battle. We put ourselves in a big hole, but we used the break to regroup and make adjustments.”
The Impact will play the visiting Vancouver Whitecaps next Saturday.