SPORTS Impact hope home field leads to win
But coach Garde knows there will be no advantage when Toronto FC visits
In no other league is home-field advantage more important than in Major League Soccer, where in 2017 the visitors won only 76 matches and tied 90 others of the 374 played. Only two teams, D.C. United and the L.A. Galaxy, had losing home records and only Toronto FC, the MLS Cup champions, had a winning road record.
In other words, the Impact should have an advantage Saturday afternoon when they launch their home schedule at Olympic Stadium against Toronto. And that edge should be even more tilted considering the Reds played Tuesday night in Mexico, capturing their Champions League quarter-final against Tigres UANL and advancing on the away goals tiebreaker.
But Rémi Garde, in his first season as Impact head coach, will entertain no such talk of any easy matches as his squad seeks its first victory following a pair of, coincidentally, road defeats.
“I’m not seeing this situation as particularly an advantage, but I know well this situation,” Garde, the former bench boss of Olympique Lyonnais of Ligue 1 in France, said Thursday morning at Centre Nutrilait. “In Europe, I was used to this. I know when you play a game that emotionally is very important, very high emotionally in mid-week, then you travel ... maybe sometimes it can be difficult.
“But you know, when you win in mid-week, the tiredness is not so high. Football is about emotion, the spirit you feel. I’m very careful (not) to say (after) the travel and play (Toronto) will be tired. I don’t believe too much in that.”
The Impact has tasted its own Champions League success. Three years ago, Montreal reached the final against Mexico’s Club América, battling to a 1-1 draw in the opening leg only to get outscored 4-2 at Olympic Stadium to lose the aggregate 5-3.
“The travelling and everything is difficult. But we’re thinking about our team because if we do the job right, we can win at home,” forward Ignacio Piatti said. “We’re not thinking about Toronto … who’s injured or who’s coming or who’s playing. We’re only thinking about ourselves.
“We’ve worked a lot this week on the things that didn’t go well the last two games and that we need to improve. We just have to be all together and not make any stupid mistakes that allow the other team to score goals.
“We’ll be ready for Saturday.” Montreal players and Garde are not the least bit despondent over a pair of one-goal defeats, knowing the team controlled large portions of play in both games, particularly in the second half. But Garde can’t be happy over the fact his squad has trailed both games 2-0 before finally becoming more desperate.
The Impact could have won or at least played to a draw March 10 in Columbus, only to be victimized by a penalty kick goal in added time. Garde said he had no complaints with the work of referee Christopher Penso, who assessed two penalties against the visitors, but also wondered why a week earlier in Vancouver no penalty was called after Matteo Mancosu appeared to be fouled.
“I would like that every weekend the same situations are sanctioned by the same punishment,” Garde said. “I know it’s not easy to be a ref. Sometimes it’s for you, sometimes it’s against.”
And after surrendering the first goal in both games, Garde can only wonder ruefully what might transpire should Montreal score first on Saturday.
“Of course ... it gives you more confidence,” he said. “But we’ve shown ... we always stay within the game and have the possibility to (come) back, which is very important for the character of the team.”
In other news, former defenders Nevio Pizzolitto and Gabriel Gervais are the first two members of the Impact’s wall of fame, team president Joey Saputo announced.