PLAYOFFS IN SIGHT
Bush is Impact’s saviour
The Impact is almost certainly headed to the Major League Soccer playoffs and they can thank Evan Bush for that.
They might also want to thank the goalkeeper’s late grandmother.
Bush made five saves Sunday — all in the second half — as the Impact beat Orlando City SC 1-0 on a sweltering Florida afternoon, with the temperature reaching 35C on the artificial turf at Camping World Stadium.
Dominic Oduro scored the only goal in the 56th minute as the Impact improved their record to 11-10-11. The win eliminated Orlando City from playoff contention and moved the Impact into fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings with two games remaining in the regular season.
The top six make the playoffs and the Impact is now five points ahead of the seventh-place New England Revolution.
Bush made a couple of big saves Sunday, stopping Cyle Larin from in close in the 62nd minute and then getting his hand on a header off a corner kick in the 88th to deflect the ball over the crossbar. But Bush’s biggest save of the season — and the biggest play of the year for the Impact — came during last Wednesday’s 3-1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes at Saputo Stadium.
With the Impact leading 2-1 in the 87th minute, Chris Wondolowski was awarded a penalty kick on what was a terrible call by the officials. While his Impact teammates surrounded referee Sorin Stoica and argued with him, Bush tried to compose himself and get ready for the penalty kick.
“I stepped away at that moment and I thought about a couple of things,” Bush said after practice Friday at Centre Nutrilait before the Impact headed for Orlando. “One, we hadn’t really had a moment this year that really transcended the season and put us into that upward climb. So I was hoping that was coming.”
Then the goalkeeper added: “I think about a few people before every game and one of them is my grandmother (Eileen Bush) who passed away at the start of last season. I just shot up a quick message to her. Whether she heard it or not … maybe she pushed the ball into me.”
Bush studies video of the penalty-kick takers for every team in MLS and knew Wondolowski had a tendency to shoot to the right of the ’keeper, so that’s the direction he dove. He made the stop with his feet.
“I’m not sure if he tried to hit it hard down the middle or if he tried to hit it hard to my right,” Bush said. “But it stayed a little bit more to the right and I was able to keep my feet behind me.”
It was the turning point in what has been a frustrating season for the Impact. After Bush’s penaltykick save, Johan Venegas scored a late goal to give the Impact the 3-1 win over San Jose and end a four-game winless streak (0-3-1). Sunday’s victory marked the first time the Impact have won backto-back games since mid-April.
“Seasons are based on moments and careers are based on moments, and that was a moment where Evan Bush came up big for this team,” coach Mauro Biello said Friday about the penalty-kick save.
Last season Didier Drogba was the Impact’s saviour, leading the club to the Eastern Conference semifinals with 11 goals in 11 regular-season games after he joined the club in August. This season, Bush is the saviour — maybe with a little help from his grandmother.
Drogba, who has 10 goals in 22 games this season, was left on the bench for the full 90 minutes Sunday and it was the second straight game he didn’t start after coming off the bench for the final 20 minutes against San Jose. The Impact won both games and are now 6-2-2 in the 10 games Drogba hasn’t play this season.
The stats say the Impact is a better team now without Drogba.
“My players gave their all this afternoon,” Biello said on the Impact’s website after the game. We found a way to win this game, showing all our character.”
Said Bush: “Our team showed a lot of character, and this victory is decisive for the future. We seem to be at our best when the stakes are high. We motivate each other at those moments. “
Biello went with a two-striker lineup Sunday, using Oduro and Matteo Mancosu up front instead of Drogba. It was a second straight start for the speedy Oduro and he scored for the second straight game with a nifty shot off the outside of his left foot, giving him six on the season. Patrice Bernier was also in the starting 11 and the Impact are now 5-1-6 in the 12 games the captain has started.
“We haven’t really hit our stride at any point,” Bush said on Friday. “Our goal was to be a toptwo team to get that first-round (playoff ) bye. But at the end of the day, whatever gets you in the playoffs is all that matters.”
A penalty-kick save might just have done it.