Taider scores two late goals in Impact’s win
Montreal moves to third place in East
Saphir Taider put the short-handed Impact on his back Wednesday, scoring twice to give Montreal a much-needed 2-1 win over the Seattle Sounders at Saputo Stadium.
Taider snapped a 1-1 tie in the 78th minute when he got his left foot on what appeared to be an errant shot from Omar Browne and beat Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei from the far post. It was his seventh goal of the season.
The victory gave the Impact two wins in their three-game homestand to move back into third place in the MLS Eastern Conference with 27 points. They are tied in points with D.C. United, which holds second place because it has played one fewer game.
Coach Rémi Garde said neither team played great football, but he felt his squad persevered because it played as a cohesive unit. He said that was missing last Saturday when the Impact dropped a 3-0 decision to Orlando City FC.
While Garde praised the overall team effort, he singled out midfielder Shamit Shome, who moved into the midfield spot usually reserved for Samuel Piette, who is with the Canadian national team as it prepares for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
“I can play Shamit on the left side or the right side or in the middle and I know that he will do what we need him to do,” Garde said.
The teams traded penalty goals earlier in the second half.
The Sounders hadn’t mustered a shot before they were awarded a penalty when Victor Cabrera fouled former Impact player Harry Shipp in the box in the 64th minute. Victor Rodriguez took the freebie and gave Seattle 1-0 lead when he beat Evan Bush with a high drive to the left of the goalkeeper.
“I wasn’t devastated when they scored that goal because they hadn’t created many chances and we did,” Garde said. “It didn’t take us long to tie the game.”
Taider got that one back in the 74th minute when he was tripped by Kelvin Leerdam. Frei dove to his right, but Taider connected with a shot to the middle of the goal.
Nine players were missing from the Montreal lineup because of injuries and international call-ups. The Impact was so short-handed that defender Daniel Kinumbe, who was on loan to the Ottawa Fury, returned to make his MLS debut.