Impact has resilience on the road
With time winding down in a 2-2 game at Montreal on May 13, Justin Meram found one more burst of energy to end his third game in eight days, surging past defender Chris Duvall near midfield to set up a 3-on-2 and scoring his third goal of the game to steal a win for Crew SC.
It was the Crew’s first goal in more than an hour. A couple of days after the hat trick, Meram remembered assistant coach Josh Wolff telling him “one more chance” over the course of the second half. In one of Crew SC’s final opportunities, he took advantage. There were lessons in perseverance and efficiency in grinding out an important win.
“I think the lesson is don’t give up two goals when you’re up 2-0,” Meram said Thursday.
Crew SC (7-9-1) plays a Montreal Impact team Saturday night at Mapfre Stadium that has been better on the road than most in the Eastern Conference. The Impact (4-4-6) has won just one game on the road but lost only two of eight, a product of being able to stay in games and score tying goals when needed.
On June 10 at Sporting Kansas City, Matteo Mancosu scored in the 82nd minute to bring Montreal level in a 1- 1 tie. The Impact blew a 3- 2 lead at Orlando City a week later and ended up with a 3- 3 tie, but it had erased 1- 0 Mapfre Stadium Channel 53, Spectrum Sports WWCD-FM (102.5), WVKO-FM (103.1, in Spanish) Crew 7-9-1; Impact 4-4-6
Crew — GK Steffen; D Afful, Mensah, Naess, Francis; MF Trapp, Artur, Higuain, Meram, Finlay; F Kamara. Montreal — GK Bush; D Lovitz, Fisher, Ciman, Cabrera, Camara; MF Dzemaili, Donadel, Bernier; F Piatti, Mancosu.
With a 1-2-5 road record, Montreal is tied with first-place Toronto FC for the fewest road losses in the Eastern Conference. … Montreal is 1-5-2 in games at Crew SC. … Ignacio Piatti and 2- 1 deficits.
“I like to say Montreal is a team that’s never out of games,” Crew SC coach Gregg Berhalter said. “They’re always in games and you need to to continually be focused on the moments because they can strike out of nothing.”
Meram is not sure how Montreal will play him this time around — “I’m not in their locker is tied for sixth in MLS with eight goals.
Crew SC has led at some point in the second half in all eight of its home games. … Kekuta Manneh (foot sprain) returned to practice this week but is listed as questionable for the game. … The Crew will play at home for the first time this month. It is 0-3-0 across all competitions since a 3-0 win over Seattle on May 31. Saturday begins a critical three-game stretch for a Crew SC team that has lost four of its last five games. Can the Crew find a way to beat a five-man back line and return to its winning ways? room understanding their game plan” — but expects a challenge, especially with a new-look back line for Montreal. Against Crew SC, the Impact went with four defenders, providing the Crew with more opportunities on the counterattack.
Recently, the Impact has played five defenders, allowing players such as Mancosu, Ignacio Piatti and Blerim Dzemaili to make plays up top while the defense provides little space to opponents in the box.
Like many teams against a five-man back line, Crew SC has struggled to find space against such as compact formation. A 5-0 loss to Toronto FC and a 1-0 loss to FC Cincinnati of the United Soccer League in the U.S. Open Cup serve as recent examples.
“It’s going to be different challenges, it’s going to be a little bit more compact, so it’s just finding ways to be dangerous,” Meram said.
After three instances this season of playing a midweek game followed by a road game three days later, Crew SC now faces a Montreal team that will do the same. The Impact played most of its starting lineup Wednesday in a 1-1 tie with Toronto FC in the first leg of the Canadian Championship.
An advantage in stamina could be enough to give Crew SC an early lead, but the team knows from experience that there’s little that can put away the Impact for good.