Montreal likes chances against Caps
CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIP: Impact will be well-rested and have home-crowd advantage over Vancouver
Dominic Oduro said there are times when the Impact needs to face adversity before they get into a game.
“We need to get punched,” the Montreal forward said Monday as the Impact put the finishing touches on preparations for Tuesday’s Canadian Championship semifinal game against the Vancouver Whitecaps at Saputo Stadium in Montreal.
“Last year around the playoffs was like that. We got punched, but we got back up and played strong.”
This is the second leg of a twogame, total-goal series and, while the Whitecaps were 2-1 winners last Tuesday in Vancouver, there is reason for optimism going into the second game.
As the Impact showed last season and in its run in the CONCACAF club championship two years ago, away goals are important. If the series is tied on aggregate, away goals count double.
David Choinière’s goal last week highlighted a strong second-half performance and it took some of the sting away from a disappointing start.
“We’ve been in the situation before where we play not so great and then we flip it 180 (degrees) in the second half,” Oduro said. “This time, we have to fix it.
“We know they’re going to come out with a strong team, obviously, and we’re going to have to come out with an even better team. We have to start strong to win this game for the city and to prove we’re the best team in Canada. It will be a tough one, but I think we’ll be better prepared than we were the last time in Vancouver.”
Playing at home should be an advantage in terms of crowd support and the Impact players should be well rested. They haven’t played since last Tuesday, while the Whitecaps dropped a 1-0 decision to D.C. United Saturday in Vancouver and will be dealing with some jet lag.
“I wouldn’t say we’re in the driver’s seat because we’re down a goal and they’ve got the lead, but it should be an interesting game,” Impact coach Mauro Biello said. “We know when it’s a two-game series, it’s always tricky. It’s never over until the end because of the away goals so we need to manage this game in the right away.
“A 1-0 win will get us in, but you can’t play too defensive or too offensive. You have to balance it out and play a smart game when you control the play at both ends.”
Both teams relied heavily on players from outside their usual starting 11 in the first leg, but Biello said he had the option to select players who were rested for the first leg although he will continue to use backup goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau in place of Evan Bush.
“We had a good game against Portland (a 4-1 win on May 20) with a certain lineup and it’s important to get some of those guys some minutes,” said Biello. “This is an important game for us, but we also have to be ready for the (New York Red Bulls) on Saturday.”
Biello noted that the Impact had a number of chances to go ahead in the second half last week, but Patrice Bernier was stopped on a penalty and there were other missed opportunities.
“We were able to make some adjustments in the second half and create some chances and put a little bit of pressure on them,” Biello said.
“That’s something for us to build on for sure. In the end, we did enough to score. We had the penalty and we had a couple of chances to get the second and even the third goal, but that’s the game. Sometimes those things happen, but we just have to go into the game with the same mentality.”