‘It’s coming together’
Head coach Marsch upbeat after signs of progress in home opener
Impact head coach Jesse Marsch was quick to note the effect a solid performance in the team’s Major League Soccer home opener had on the first day back on the practice field.
“Today might have been our best training as a team,” Marsch said Tuesday. “I think the guys feel confident based on how they played.
“They’re disappointed they didn’t get the three points, but I think there’s a belief and understanding within the group that it’s coming together. So, we’re pleased with that.
“The best part,” Marsch added, “is sometimes when you feel good about things everybody relaxes, but the key is knowing that if things go well, or don’t go well, we maintain the same level of commitment to training and work every day. Today was good for that.”
The Impact registered the first point of its inaugural season in MLS with a 1-1 draw against the Chicago Fire in front of 58,912 fans Saturday at Olympic Stadium. Team captain Davy Arnaud scored the club’s historic first goal in the 56th minute, but the Fire replied 15 minutes later.
The Impact’s performance was significantly improved from a 2-0 loss to the Whitecaps in the season opener the previous weekend in Vancouver, and everyone knew it.
“The first game, our first MLS game, we weren’t as cohesive as we were supposed to be,” No. 1 goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts said. “We went back and looked at the tape, and on Saturday we did everything right.
“My game was an easy game. I was a spectator, just like you,” he added. “I didn’t have a lot to do because the midfield played well. The defence played well. I mopped up whatever they spilled. We did well.
“Unfortunately, we let the goal in and we wanted the three points at home. But it’s a work in progress, and we’ll get it right.”
Defender Josh Gardner, whose potential game winner struck the goalpost in the dying seconds of added time, said the Impact played considerably better defensively than in the season opener.
“We did a better job of maintaining their speed. We limited their chances,” Gardner said. “Defence is all about mentality and making sure you’re tough to beat. I thought we changed that from Week 1.
“Didn’t give anything away until (the) 71st minute, not the third minute like the first week, which is good.”
Marsch also said the club was better organized defensively, adding there was noticeable improvement in ball possession and on the attack.
“With the ball, we were sharper than we were the previous week,” the coach said. “Our spacing was better. We were more dangerous. We were sharper around the goal. It only added up to one goal, but it was close to adding up to more.
“Now we just have to continue to build on the understanding of how, tactically, we’re moving together on the field. That, along with how to handle the lead, because in some ways I felt when we had the lead we were thinking more about the second goal than keeping things tight, and knowing that we would be able to catch a second goal by keeping it tight and catching them on the break.
“It could have been about the crowd and the energy, everybody being excited for the moment,” he added. “When you become a team
“I’m okay, man. I’m Jamaican, I’m built to last.”
GOALKEEPER DONOVAN RICKETTS
you have to go through all these different moments to understand and know how to handle it as a group.
“We’ve all been on different teams. We’ve all been parts of different things, and different teams handle them in different ways. We’re coming to understand how to handle different moments, soccer ideas, the whole bit. It’s coming together really well and I feel like we’ve got a really good group of men here.”
The Impact now prepares for a tough stretch ahead with three games on the road, beginning in Columbus on Saturday at 4 p.m. A week later, it’s against the Red Bulls in New York, and on April 4 in Salt Lake to visit a club that moved to No. 1 in this week’s MLS power rankings.
“We talked at the end of preseason about what the beginning stretch of the season was going to look like and the fact that whoever made our schedule didn’t do us any favours,” Marsch said.
“We also talked about being, right away, ready to be battle tested, so we’re going to find out in the next three games what we’re all about mentally as much as soccer-wise.
“I believe in the strength of this unit and the strength of this team, so I think we’ll be ready. We have to know that it’s not going to be easy.” Line of the day: Ricketts, who briefly left an 8-on-8 scrimmage Tuesday to have his left ankle looked at: “I’m okay, man. I’m Jamaican, I’m built to last.” MLS twin bill: The Impact’s entire roster, with the exception of those too injured to go, will travel to Columbus because Montreal also plays its first of 10 reserve-team games on Saturday.
The reserve squad will be made up of players who don’t see action as part of the 18-man game-day roster against the Crew as well as those who were not part of the lineup, along with players selected from the team’s academy.