Disappointing tie for Impact: Barker
Montreal fails to beat Orlando, which was without bulk of first- choice players
I find it strange to call last Saturday’s Impact game against Orlando City at the Olympic Stadium the home opener.
With Saputo Stadium snowed under, the Big O is nothing more than the Impact’s involuntary home away from home. But with 25,245 in attendance, Montreal played in front of the fifth- largest opening day home crowd in the MLS this season. Kudos to those who turned out.
However, despite the relatively sizable crowd, an argument could be made that about 35,000 soccer fans missed a great opportunity to witness the magic of Brazilian superstar Kaka, one of the greatest to have played the game. The 2002 World Cup winner and 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year recipient showed us that class is indeed permanent.
Here are my pros and cons from the Impact’s 2- 2 draw against Orlando:
Pro: It took three games, but the Impact is no longer one of the last teams without a goal in MLS. That honour is held by the Colorado Rapids, who oddly enough, also haven’t conceded a goal. The Impact’s first goal was a confidently converted penalty by Ignacio Piatti, who beat former Impact goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts with a shot to the bottom corner. Montreal’s second goal wasn’t quite as straightforward. Defender Bakary Soumaré sent a long searching ball forward, which wasn’t headed clear by Orlando defender Seb Hines, and underfire Impact striker Jack McInerney managed to score a goal out of nothing. With Ricketts and three Orlando defenders caught in two minds, McInerney was the quickest to react to the loose ball and delicately lobbed it over the 6- foot- 4 Ricketts. It was a well deserved goal for McInerney, who looked determined to rediscover his scoring form.
Con: It’s not unfair to say the Impact failed to beat an expansion side that was without the bulk of its first- choice players. Orlando arrived in Canada without seven players who were called up for international duty, plus another four who were injured. In fact, coach Adrian Heath only had four players on the substitutes’ bench, including his 19- year- old son Harrison. The absence of Impact defender Laurent Ciman, who was away with the Belgian team, was very apparent. Furthermore, the Impact’s inability to increase the offensive tempo or to break teams down is equally worrying. The disappointing draw meant the Impact remained winless after three league games. That’s a fact that will put some fans on edge, especially considering that during the miserable 2014 season, the Impact had to endure a season- opening stretch of eight games before the team’s first victory.
Pro: It’s fair to say Piatti has returned to the level we saw from him when he joined the Impact last July. Without injured Justin Mapp and Dilly Duka, Piatti remains the one Impact player who looks to take the attack on his shoulders.
Con: When you’re up by two goals after 27 minutes at home, you should go on to win that match — period. Fingers will predictably be pointed at midfielder Marco Donadel for his failure to effectively tackle both Orlando goal scorers, Pedro Rebeiro and Kaka, in the lead up to their very defendable goals. And though Donadel should shoulder his fair share of the blame, once again the defensive demise was a collective effort. On Orlando’s first goal, Kaka made an undetected run behind a ball- watching Nigel Reo- Coker and in front of a hesitant Donadel, before he flicked a short pass to Rebeiro who scored. It’s important to note, there were eight Impact players in the box to defend against four Orlando players. It was much the same on Kaka’s equalizer, which came only one minute after Rebeiro’s goal. It began when Donadel misread Soumaré’s under- hit cross- field pass, which Rebeiro picked off and immediately transitioned to counter attack. By the time Kaka was sticking the ball past goalkeeper Eric Kronberg, there were six Impact players defending three Orlando players in the box, but again, to no avail.
Pro: Another game, another strong outing from Donny Toia at left back. It’s no coincidence that Orlando’s two goals came through the Impact’s right side, opposite Toia. The 22- year- old American has been a revelation for the Impact, and has provided shutdown defending on the left side. The offensive contribution in Toia’s game needs to improve, but he’s been nearly perfect at his primary function as a fullback, which is defending.
Con: We can’t realistically expect late goal heroics, like Cameron Porter’s, every time coach Frank Klopas makes a change but we should at least see a difference in the way the team plays when fresh players are inserted. Winger Andres Romero played 21 minutes and had enough time to influence the game, but he did not. Midfielder Patrice Bernier played 14 minutes, while striker Romario Williams made a six- minute cameo, which was simply not enough time to make a difference. Additionally, there was no noticeable change in tactics after the substitutions were made. As a result, none of the three changes made a difference. By comparison, Orlando switched its formation to five in the back almost immediately after scoring the tying goal in the 30th minute. It earned the team a point.
Pro: As soon as the Orlando game was over my thoughts immediately turned to the Impact’s next opponent, Alajuelense on April 7, which happens to be one of the biggest games in club history. There isn’t much time for the Impact to languish after the tie with Orlando, and with Ciman returning to the back line we can expect order to be restored defensively. And did I mention Jack- Mac has found his scoring boots?