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The Impact’s MLS season may be over, but they still have reason to play. A tie between C.D Fas from El Salvador and the New York Red Bull means the Impact have officially qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. Montreal, who have been playing much better as of late and won their last game convincingly against the Earthquakes, likely wanted to keep that fine form when they visited the Columbus Crew on Saturday.
"We need to continue working on the things that have made us successful in our last two games," said Jeremy Gagnon-Laparé told RedNation prior to the match. "We are playing a pleasant style of soccer and we need to focus on making sure our quality comes through."
The Crew, on the other hand, were on the outside looking in at a playoff spot, with Toronto FC moving into fifth Saturday afternoon when they dramatically came back and beat Portland 3-2. Columbus entered Saturday’s game sitting in sixth with a chance to regain that fifth and final spot.
The Impact took the game 2-0 last time these two teams met in August, but lost their first matchup against the Crew this season.
"In the game that we played there, we lost the midfield a little bit," said head coach Frank Klopas. "However, in the game in Montreal we were able to close spaces down quickly and did a good job of creating chances and making it hard on their midfielders Tony Tchani, Will Trapp and Kevan George."
The Opening 45
The match had barely begun when the Crew took the lead in the 2nd minute. Trapp received the ball in midfield and quickly sent Finlay on the run. Finlay, followed by the Impact defense, took a shot from a bad angle that went past Bush. My guess is Bush would’ve wanted that bad, perhaps a little rusted from sitting the past few games in place of Perkins.
The Impact followed up with a scoring chance three minutes later. Duka, running down the line on the left passed a hard low ball into the box, that was deflected near Mclnerney, who failed to get a touch on it.
Mclnerney was making his second straight start, the Impact opting to give Di Vaio a day off after he was subbed in early last week for an injured Piatti. Piatti was the one that scored the two goals that lifted the Impact past Columbus last time these two teams met. He wasn’t on the field for this one either.
In the 19th minute, Finlay came close to netting his second of the game after eh was sprung on a breakaway, sneaking in between the defenders and giving himself a chance on Bush. The keeper came out perfectly however and Finlay’s shot was deflected and cleared a few moments later by Camara.
There was nothing in particular about the Impact’s game that resembled a team being down a goal. They looked more like a team up by a goal in the last few minutes of the game, offering little in attacking play, and circling the ball throughout their back four quite often. The Crew was getting good chances up front, mainly due to the midfielders taking a long time to come back and defend.
When they did have the ball, the Impact failed to create anything offensively and struggled to keep possession in general, offering the Crew the opportunity to transition quickly.
Higuain came close to scoring a spectacular goal on Bush, receiving the ball outside of the box and opting to go for the chip, which seemed to have Bush beat but went just wide of the net, keeping the Impact luckily only down by one goal.
Just three minutes later, the Crew was on the prowl again. Jimenez sprinted down the line, looked up into the box, and gave Higuain a precise ball, but the Argentine’s one-time shot went just over the bar. The Impact was caught ball-watching once again.
In the 40th minute it was all Crew again as Meram saw his chance and unleashed a bullet from outside the box that went just over the bar, sending Bush diving. The pressure from the Crew was relentless, and with the half so close, the Impact were hoping the score would still be 1-0 at the break.
Higuain got another opportunity at net off a set-piece right outside the box, but his ensuing shot was high and wide, although barely so. The half would end on that note, the Impact lucky to be down by only one after a very one-sided first half.
The Second Half
The second half started as badly for the Impact as the first. In the 56th minute, as Higuain was coming in on the left, Gagnon-Lapare was covering Trapp who was running in. Trapp fell quite easily, and it seemed as if Lapare’s extended arm caught Trapp, and the referee immediately called the penalty. The usual protests were given by the Impact before Higuain calmly placed the ball on Bush’s right and put the Crew up by one.
Down 2-0 and playing like they have so far, it was difficult to see how the Impact would get back into this one. Lapare, a youngster who’s only played a few games for the Impact, and only his second game as a left back, was unlucky to be the one that would get blamed for that one.
"I didn't have a chance to see the replay yet. Those things happen fast in a game," said Gagnon-Laparé. "I still have a lot to learn in that position. They were attacking my side with two players, which was tougher to manage tonight."
Gagnon-Lapare was almost immediately subbed off after the foul in place for Marco Di Vaio, Klopas opting to go all out in the last 30 minutes, and giving Lapare a break after his mistake.
A few minutes later, Mallace came close to getting one back for the Impact, hitting a spectacular volley from a long ways out that forced the keeper to make a fingertip save, leading to an Impact corner. We know now that corners aren’t the Impact’s strongest assets, and nothing came of it.
Ever since the Gagnon-Lapare penatly call, Klopas had been adamant, making himself heard from the touch line. In the 66th minute, the referee said enough was enough, and expulsed Klopas from the game, not the first time that has happened this year. The coach proceeded to shaking the Crew’s hands on the bench and walking off the pitch.
The Crew had an opportunity a few minutes later in the 70th minute to really put this one to bed. Higuain, who was having a great game on all fronts, sent Finlay a beautiful ball down the right side. Finlay then gave a back pass into the box to Schoenfeld, who’s one-time shot was easily neutralized by Bush.
Duka and Romero, who provided a spark into the impact’s game most times, were irrelevant today. Their runs were easily stopped by the Crew’s defense, and they were failing to find any space whatsoever to receive the ball.
The two have been overused as of late, and Klopas will want to think about maybe giving the two a break very soon. But with Mapp’s return still a little uncertain, there was still the matter of filling that position, and Duka and Romero were still the best choices.
Di Vaio tried to make things happen for the Impact, but the Crew had full control of this match, crushing the Impact’s offense the second they got too close. With time running out, it was looking as if the Crew would secure the three points, pushing Toronto FC out of playoff territory and jumping into fourth in front of the Red Bull.
With only three minutes remaining, everyone in the stadium remained puzzled as to how the score was still 2-0. Tchani came in quickly from the left, outrunning Felipe, and shooting short side on Bush. His shot hit the post but the ball went straight into Anor’s feet, who just came on. His ensuing empty net shot also hit the post, and his rebound was stopped by Ferrari and finally neutralized by Bush. But with only a few minutes left, the miss didn’t seem to matter.
At the beginning of stoppage time, Issey was fouled in the box and a penalty was shot. Di Vaio stepped up, hoping to get one back for a late game push, but his penalty, which was very similar to Higuain’s, was stopped spectacularly by Clark’s fingertips to maintain the clean sheet. The game would end 2-0.
"It was very hard for me to understand the call on Jérémy," said Impact head coach Frank Klopas. "It was a tough game on the road and we gave an early goal. We had some good moments, but we lost the ball often and a little bit of momentum at times. Going down 2-0 on the road is difficult."
"They scored when they had chances and we did not tonight," said midfielder Dilly Duka. "We create chances and got a PK but we were not lucky. We have the players to do well on the road as well. They played well and got the three points. We allowed the first goal very early from a tough angle, but we kept pushing."
The Impact’s next game will be next Saturday against the Fire in Chicago. Klopas earned an automatic one game suspension for having been sent off, and coincidentally it comes when he goes to visit his old team.
Man of the Match
Heath Pearce
It was very hard to pick a man of the match for this one because the Impact was unimpressive in every part of the field tonight. Pearce, however, although he did not shine in anyway, had a stellar game defensively, and kept the Crew away from running away with this one early.
Camara also had a god game defensively, but his usual contributions up front didn’t produce the usual results tonight. The Frenchmen evidently worked hard tonight, but his contributions were not enough to lift the Impact tonight.
Montreal Impact Line-up
Bush
Mclnerney
Tissot
Duka
Romero
Mallace
Felipe
Gagnon-Lapare
Pearce
Ferrari
Camara
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