After one of their arduous weeks this season, the Impact had a week to prepare for the Columbus Crew on Saturday night at Stade Saputo. The Impact will look to regain some of the momentum they had before losing to the New York Red Bull last week 4-2 in New York.
It won’t be easy as they play Columbus, a team that has beaten the Impact five times since Montreal came into the MLS. Montreal has only beaten Columbus once, and the two teams also tied once. The Crew has also won four of their last six games, beating LA twice in that stretch. The Crew sits 4th in the East, but Toronto’s loss today means that a win will put them in third.
"They are a hard-working team with a great midfielder in Higuain," added assistant coach Mauro Biello. "He can control the game, so it will be important to know where he is at all times. He can put a defence off-balance."
However, the Impact faithful will hope that losing their defensive star Giancarlo Gonzalez to Palermo in Italy’s Serie A will leave their defense a little unstable. Kick-off for this one is set at 7:30 Saturday night.
The Opening 45
The stage was set at Stade Saputo for what the fans hoped would be a cracker. The stars were out and there was a perfect wind around the stadium; a perfect night for the Impact faithful to show up in numbers and support the bleu-blanc-noir.
Trapp got the first real chance for the Crew in the 5th minute. A defensive mishap by Felipe who was playing alongside Bernier saw Higuain get the ball. It eventually led to Trapp one-timing a shot from outside the box that went just wide of Bush and out of play.
The Crew continued to press, pushing the Impact well into their half. In the 10th minute, increased pressure forced Lefevre to foul Finlay right outside the box, setting an excellent set piece for the Crew and giving them a good chance to test Bush early. Higuain’s ensuing shot went off the wall and out of play.
The Crew got another chance in the 20th minute off another defensive mishap. This time it was Bernier who last the ball in his own half, giving Columbus a chance to take a strong shot on Bush, who made the save calmly.
The Impact has been fairly quiet thus far in the game, receiving the pressure instead of supplying it. Halfway through the first, Felipe found himself in good position outside of the box, and almost fed a nice ball to Di Vaio, but it was intercepted quickly and the play continued.
The Crew was refusing to put their foot off the pedal, and 30 minutes in, the Impact were now fully immersed into their own half, defending the wave after wave of the Crew’s attack. They were losing the battle in the midfield, and it was costing them so far. More importantly, the Crew was always first on the ball, and was the much better team thus far.
The best chance of the game, however, came from the Impact in the 30th minute. Di Vaio touched the ball back to Bernier on the left, who immediately found Piatti outside the box in the middle. His ensuing shot was barely blocked by Clark, and he was that close to scoring his first MLS goal.
On the ensuing corner, Piatti found himself with the ball at his feet, but his shot went way over the bar, The Impact has not scored a goal off a corner yet this season, and it was something Klopas put extra work in during training this week.
The Impact was finally gaining some of the game’s momentum back, and the game was quickly shifting from end to end. The Impact was doing a better job of remaining more compact in the midfield, and it was working in their favor as the half wore on.
It was the Impact that struck first to break the deadlock in the 40th minute, and it wad the Argentine Ignacio Piatti who scored it. Coming down the left side with speed, the Argentine cut in and then cut out, and shot a bullet into the far corner that gave Clark no chance. Despite losing the possession battle in the first, the Impact was up by one late in the first, and what a cracker it was.
The half would end shortly after, Piatti’s goal the only one in this one so far.
The Second Half
The Crew came close to getting an excellent chance on goal in the 54th minute, when Higuain sprung Finlay behind the defense on a breakaway, but Ferrari recovered well and slid in quickly to take the ball away. A risky tackle that ended up paying dividends for the Italian centre back.
The Impact started the second much better than the first, calmly taking the game to Columbus and quickly stopping any form of attack from the Crew. Piatti was doing a good job handling the midfield, and the Impact needed to control this game for another half hour to secure the win.
Di Vaio came close to making it 2-0 in the 71st minute. A beautiful soaring ball from across the pitch from Tissot found Di Vaio at his feet. The Italian inched his way forward, getting the crowd to their feet, but his shot hit the side of the net, and the crowd gasped as they thought the ball had gone in.
In the 76th minute, a rough tackle from Ferrari right outside the box gave Columbus an excellent opportunity to tie this game on the set piece. Higuain stepped up to the plate for the third time this game off a set piece outside the box. This time he went low, and the ball was deflected off Felipe and out for a corner.
Bernier was replaced by Mallace with 10 minutes left. The Montreal native was chosen to be part of the national teams international against Jamaica on September 9th, perhaps a factor in why Klopas decided to give the captain an early end to this game that the Impact was hanging on too.
In stoppage time, the Crew’s corner was headed on by Tchani, but Bush, who has been solid all game, held on without a problem to avoid a heartbreaking goal that would have tied the game.
The Crew were bringing all their men forward and in the 94th minute, Di Vaio broke away from everyone with speed and made his way into the Crew half. With a few lucky deflections, the ball ended up on Piatti’s half, who cut in to pass the defender, and blast a shot past Clark into the top netting. The insurance goal the Impact was looking for the entire second half was finally here.
"Our ability to win 50/50 balls in the midfield and having a presence there helped us alleviate some pressure on the backline," said head coach Frank Klopas. "Our quality in the final third was the difference in a game that went back and forth momentum wise. Evan Bush made some good saves and in the end, everyone had a very good night to get this type of result."
It was a victory signed by Ignacio Piatti, and it was exactly the type of performance the Impact wanted from their designated player. The Impact plays next Saturday in Houston at 8:30.
Man of the Match
Ignacio Piatti
The Impact’s biggest signing of the year played a game worthy of his talents tonight, netting his first two goals since he joined the club a few weeks ago. His solo effort put the Impact in front and ended up being the game-winning goal. He also remained calm in the midfield throughout the game, providing a good option for his teammates and moving the ball into dangerous positions.
"We played a really good game tonight," said Piatti. "I'm really happy to have scored for the team. We are building some good chemistry in the attacking zone and with time, it's only going to get better."
Evan Bush had a good game in goal, and earned himself a shutout. He remained calm throughout the game and did good work minimizing his rebounds. Matteo Ferrari was as solid as ever in the back, and it resonated in the back four. He also made what seemed to be a goal-saving tackle early in the second that kept the Impact on top.
Montreal Impact Line-up
30 Bush
23 Krol
13 Ferrari
55 Lefevre
6 Camara
8 Bernier
11 Duka
15 Romero
7 Felipe
10 Piatti
9 Di Vaio
Substitutions: (62) Tissot for Duka; (80) Mallace for Bernier; (88) Miller for Romero
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