NEW ERA FOR IMPACT
Jackson-Hamel starts making mark
It was a tale of two halves for the Montreal Impact last weekend against the Philadelphia Union in an encounter that was loaded with lots of positives and a fair share of negatives for the Impact.
The Union remained the only winless team in Major League Soccer after eight rounds of games and, judging by the way this 3-3 game played out, it would be surprising if a few significant changes aren’t made in Philly.
As for the Impact, their rally from three goals down was undoubtedly one of the talking points from last weekend’s league fixtures. Likewise, many are wondering how the Union could allow a visiting team to be able to grab anything from a match that seemed out of reach at 3-0 after 40 minutes.
The Impact became only the ninth team in league history to claw back from a three-goal deficit to earn a point. It should be noted that the Impact have done this twice in two seasons.
The Union are winless in their last 15 games, dating to Aug. 27, with a record of 0-10-5.
In this era, when managers are fired one month into a season, it’s mind boggling that the Union owners have stuck with Jim Curtin through a 15-game skid. Stay tuned.
Many people are asking who the Impact’s new goal-scoring machine is. After four seasons with the team, it’s fair to say striker Anthony Jackson-Hamel, 23, can no longer be considered a prospect. When the Impact decided not to bring in another striker after Didier Drogba left, their message was clear. Matteo Mancosu is without question the team’s lead striker, but JacksonHamel has earned the trust of the coaching staff and is next in line to replace Mancosu if need be.
During the past two weeks, the homegrown player has repaid coach Mauro Biello’s faith in him with three timely goals. His goals have been scored during a grand total of 37 minutes played in 2017. We can finally say that Jackson-Hamel is taking advantage of the minimal minutes afforded to him to show he can make a difference in games.
The challenge, of course, is for Jackson-Hamel to keep up a respectable level of consistency when given the opportunity.
Has he done enough to earn himself a starting spot? Perhaps. But the reality is the game presents completely different scenarios for the first 70-plus minutes, compared with the last 20. All players want to play from the start, but there is nobody that understands the importance of having an offensive threat coming off the bench better than Biello. It’s a role he seized early in his career on his way to becoming the Impact’s all-time leading scorer.
Lost in Jackson-Hamel’s twogoal heroics was the fact that Ignacio Piatti scored yet another ridiculous individual goal, which effectively got the comeback started in the 41st minute.
Piatti picked up the ball ten yards into the Union half and proceeded to beat no fewer than four defenders on his way to goal before he tucked it into the side netting from 15 yards out. It was his third goal in five games.
The fact that the league credited midfielder Marco Donadel with an assist on Piatti’s goal raises the question of whether there needs to be a review of what actually constitutes an assist. But that’s a discussion for another day. I must say though, Piatti was lucky not to see a straight red card for his rash challenge on Alejandro Bedoya in the 65th minute that earned him a yellow.
The Impact will host the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday afternoon at Saputo Stadium.
The Whitecaps have only one win in their last 12 away games in MLS, dating to last season, posting a 1-8-3 record. But don’t let those numbers fool you. The ’Caps are a well-balanced side, equipped with powerful central defenders, hard tackling midfielders and creative offensive players. Tony Tchani was brought in via trade to solidify Carl Robinson’s midfield, and that is likely where the game will be decided on Saturday. Both teams try to play through the middle of the park, with the purpose of using their respective wingers in isolation with fullbacks.
As always, Piatti will be a marked man, but that is easier said than done. The ’Caps have a few legitimate offensive weapons in striker Freddy Montero and wingers Christian Bolanos and Cristian Techera. It’s no secret the Impact are vulnerable on set pieces against them, but they’ll have to figure out a scheme to manage 6-foot-5 Vancouver defender Kendall Waston when he goes forward on set pieces.
Both teams have seven points from seven games, and sit near the bottom of their respective conferences.
And both will want maximum points from this match in order to keep pace with the teams above them. Besides, it is a Canadian derby match, after all, so no one wants to see a draw on Saturday.
It’s three points or nothing.