Impact hopes home opener is tonic for slow start
Montreal club looking for first points of MLS season following road losses
With only a fraction of the Major League Soccer season on which to draw, it’s difficult to jump to conclusions following two weeks of play.
But the Impact’s year to date under new head coach Rémi Garde has seen two constants through a pair of defeats — Montreal trailed both Vancouver and Columbus by 2-0 deficits before playing its best soccer in the second half while operating from behind.
The Impact isn’t unlike many MLS clubs that find it difficult to win on the road. Montreal won only three road games last season — a major contributing factor in the team missing the playoffs.
But Saturday at 3 p.m. at Olympic Stadium, Montreal makes its long-awaited home debut. Even if it’s against Toronto FC, the defending MLS Cup champions, a better performance will be paramount. More than 20,000 tickets have already been sold for the match.
“Frankly, we don’t feel like we should have lost either game,” said left fullback Daniel Lovitz, who is off to a strong start this season with two assists. “We attribute it to the slow start. The good thing is we responded well in the second half. We know it’s in us.
“This weekend’s a perfect opportunity for that, given a rival game, the first at home, in a big venue. This could be the jump-start to how we open up games from now on,” he added. “At home, it’s about us. It’s not about who we’re playing. Obviously it’s a rival ... a good team. But it’s more about us. I think we’re in a very good place mentally about how we’re playing.”
The Impact have a young squad with many new faces under Garde, who doubles as the director of player personnel and has overhauled the roster. The team looked tentative, especially in the first half at Vancouver. And, although Montreal also fell behind Columbus by two goals in the opening 15 minutes, the game might have played out differently had Jeisson Vargas not rang a shot off the bar from 16 yards out in the game’s eighth minute.
“Obviously I think (Saturday’s game) is a must-win. For now, every game is a must-win,” said midfielder Samuel Piette who, along with teammates Michael Petrasso and Raheem Edwards, have been called up by the Canadian national team to participate in next week’s training camp to prepare for a friendly against New Zealand on March 24 in Murcia, Spain.
“We can’t hit the panic button, it’s a long season,” Piette added. “We’re not in a panic mode, but obviously it’s a must-win. Or at least we have to get something out of this game.”
Piette believes the Impact roster is more fit than the opponents they faced, and Garde’s training camp sessions in Florida and Las Vegas were marked by plenty of running and a stress on conditioning. That could well explain the Impact’s second-half dominance. And the players have demonstrated their mettle by refusing to quit.
At the same time the players, to a man, talk about the calm and sensible approach Garde displayed during last Saturday’s halftime speech, despite the deficit. He told them all it would take was an early goal to get the visitors back into the game.
Prophetically, Ignacio Piatti scored in the 59th minute after Montreal repeatedly came close.
The Impact controlled the game from that juncture, applying pressure on the Crew before Edwards scored the equalizer in the 85th.
Montreal should have boarded its return flight home with its first point of the season, but those plans were scuttled when referee Christopher Penso awarded a penalty in extra time following Edwards’ challenge on Luis Argudo after Edwards clipped the player’s heel.
Gyasi Zardes, with his second goal of the game, scored the winner on the ensuing penalty kick.
At home, it’s about us. It’s not about who we’re playing. Obviously it’s a rival ... a good team. But it’s more about us.
It was the second penalty Penso ruled against the Impact, Columbus scoring on both.
“Two penalties is unusual in one game,” Petrasso said, shrugging. “When we scored the second, we thought we could do it and even win the game. It happened so fast. Obviously it’s disappointing. Two penalties in one game is a bit tough.”
Petrasso said he has watched the play in question repeatedly and knows opinions will vary, based on the angle.
“From the ref ’s point of view ... it was a tough decision,” he said before quickly adding: “No comment.”
If the Impact have been tentative on the road, the emphasis will be on Montreal to put on a show and control the pace against Toronto.
And the Impact might meet a weary squad because Toronto faced Tigres UANL in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final Tuesday night in Monterrey, Mexico. Toronto held a 2-1 lead in the aggregate series heading into the match.
“We need to go in with the right mentality. We need to take our chances this game,” Petrasso said.