Crew seeks solid showing vs. desperate Impact
Crew SC heads into a game Saturday at the Montreal Impact aware it will face a motivated opponent.
Last Saturday against D.C. United, the Impact outshot United but was embarrassed 5-0. Now Montreal will have to fight in each of its final three games to hold off D.C., which trails the Impact by two points (40-38) in the Eastern Conference standings and has played two fewer games.
“Yeah, 100 percent,” coach Gregg Berhalter said of expecting a motivated Montreal team. “This is a very important game for them and a very important game for us.”
Although not life or death for the Crew, there are at least two incentives for putting in a strong performance.
The game marks the Crew’s first direct shot at clinching its Crew SC captain Will Trapp, on the team’s recent struggles
fourth playoff spot in five seasons, which will happen with a win or a tie. The Crew also is competing with the Philadelphia Union for fourth place.
The Union hosts Minnesota United on Saturday trailing the Crew by a point in the standings, 48-47, meaning it’s possible the Union could overtake the Crew if it ties or loses to Montreal.
“I think knowing that when you win or tie you are somewhere (positive),” center back Jonathan Mensah said. “I think you want to 3 P.M. TODAY Where: Stade Saputo, Montreal TV: Channel 53, Spectrum Sports Radio: WWCD-FM (102.5) Records: Crew 13-9-9, Impact 12-15-4 Projected starters: Crew — GK Steffen; D Valenzuela, Williams, Mensah, Afful; MF Artur, Trapp, Santos, Higuain, Meram; F Zardes. Impact — GK Bush; D Sagna, Fanni, Camacho, Lovitz; MF Azira, Piette, Taider, Silva, Piatti; F Amarikwa. On the Impact: Has conceded 52 goals, the highest total among teams above the playoff line. … Is 3-2-3 since Aug. 4 … Midfielder Ignacio Piatti has 13 goals and 13 assists this season. On the Crew: Scored at least three goals in each of its last three meetings
do your best and get a win or tie, and getting a win or a tie on the road in this league is very with the Impact, all wins. … 7-4-2 in October under coach Gregg Berhalter … Can clinch a playoff spot with a win or tie. How it might play out: A loss could hurt the Crew’s chances of snagging fourth place in the Eastern Conference, but a loss for Montreal might play a role in keeping the Impact out of the playoffs. It’s worth keeping that in mind during the game. It is important but not vital for the Crew, which has a much easier path to clinching a playoff spot than Montreal, which will play life-ordeath soccer the rest of the way to try to hold off D.C. United. For that reason, the Crew should be pleased if it leaves Montreal with a road tie and a playoff spot in hand. difficult. So that’s what we’re going to go out there and do, and we have the tools to do it.”
Midfielder and captain Wil Trapp agreed that the potential to clinch a playoff spot with two games to spare does add motivation, but he called the game a good exercise for a Crew team that aspires to a deep playoff run.
That requires playing sound soccer — and scoring — in difficult road games.
“This game is just an experience that we want to take advantage of more than the clinching of the playoff spot,” Trapp said. “That would be a wonderful byproduct, but it’s more about understanding that in the playoffs we’re going to have to go away and try to get a result, and that’s what this game is about.”
Desperation from Montreal, however, won’t necessarily mean security along the back line. The Impact is particularly strong on the counterattack, which might leave pockets of space open when the Crew wins possession.
History suggests the matchup is good for the Crew, which has scored three goals or more in three straight meetings with the Impact. The Crew won all three but blew a 2-0 lead in two of those games.
In those, including a 3-2 win at Mapfre Stadium in March, the Crew responded well to adversity. A team that has struggled to score likely would be thrilled with a 2-0 road lead Saturday, but it will look to respond in general to a disappointing home tie against the Union last weekend.
“I think we’ve been pretty unfazed by it in terms of getting down on ourselves. We still understand that there are nine points left on the board for us,” Trapp said. “This week has been really, really good in terms of our preparation for this individual match.”