Montreal Impact 0 – 0 Philadelphia Union

The Prelude to Battle
The Montreal Impact travelled to Philadelphia for their first of two consecutive road fixtures on Saturday night.

The Impact arrived in the City of Brotherly Love following a 5-0 thrashing of the Houston Dynamo last weekend at Stade Saputo. This was the club's second straight league win. The win over the Dynamo catapulted Montreal into first place in the Eastern Conference.

In order to keep their spot, the Impact would need to get two good results on these pair of away matches. This is easier said than done, as Montreal have struggled recently away from home. Their last away victory was against Sporting Kansas City on June 1.

With recent success, the Impact kept the exact same formation and lineup that has them on two straight league wins. Head coach Marco Schällibaum was still not on the touchline, as he was serving his last of a two match ban.

The Union came into this match after being heavily defeated, 5-1, by the New England Revolution last weekend. Three points was the objective for this Philadelphia side that is barely holding on to a playoff position.

This was the second of three matches between these two sides. Montreal won an eight goal thriller, 5-3, back on May 25 at Stade Saputo. Their third and final meeting is an afternoon encounter on October 19, back in Montreal.

The Opening 45
The Union looked hungry out of the gates and were looking to prove themselves after last week's blowout loss.

They had a few good looking moments early, but were unable to make nothing out of these half-chances.

The first major chance went to the Impact in the 24th minute. Midfielder Justin Mapp won a ball near the center line and went on a run. Mapp nailed a bouncing low shot from 25-yards out that was unable to be handled by Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath. Marco Di Vaio missed the rebound.

Philadelphia were on the front foot for most of the opening half. Midfielder Danny Cruz was the most dangerous Union player, but he squandered a decent chance from inside the box. Cruz took control of a ball in the Impact's half, managed to cut in at the top of the box, but curled his effort way off target.

In the 42nd minute, the Union were denied on their best chance of the evening. Keon Daniel and Cruz played a one-two that resulted in the ball being played out wide. Cruz cut his cross to the top of the box for a trailing Sebastien Le Toux. Le Toux's side footed effort was blocked by Montreal goalkeeper Troy Perkins. Jack McInerney missed the follow up.

The Second Half
The Impact looked far more comfortable in the second half.

In the 55th minute, they looked threatening when Hernán Bernardello played a through ball in for Felipe. The pass was deflected by Philadelphia's Jeff Parke onto Di Vaio's path. The Italian could not get a shot off as Sheanon Williams was quick to slide in and clear the zone.

Two minutes later, McInerney came close to ending his scoring drought. The Union striker won a ball 40-yards away from the Impact goal and fired a long range missile on target. Perkins parried the effort in front and the Impact back line was able to clear.

The ball did end up in one of the goals at one point in this match. In the 61st minute, Felipe played Di Vaio in with a perfect through ball. Di Vaio curled his shot into the far corner of the goal, but it was immediately waived off in a correct offside call.

The Union came to within inches of breaking the deadlock in the 77th minute. Brazilian fullback Fabinho made a surging run deep into the Impact half of the pitch and played in a menacing low cross. The ball bounced untouched through Montreal's six-yard box, with McInerney coming in seconds late.

Montreal would get the final chance to get three points. Patrice Bernier powered his way through to the top of the Union 18-yard box and played a lateral ball for Di Vaio. Di Vaio ripped his effort to within hairs of the opposite low corner.

The match ended with both sides getting a point. The result bodes well for the Impact as they were able to keep a clean sheet and get something out of a road fixture, something they've had problems with lately.

The Final Word: Impact with no complaints after earning a point in a match with few chances.
Was this the best result for the Impact? No, but it definitely could have been worse.

The Impact should have no problem with this result. In fact, there are plenty of positives to take from a performance like this one.

The most important was not conceding a goal. Montreal's back line and midfielders weren't perfect in this match, but still managed to limit the Union to only four shots on target.

Philadelphia tried to play offensive football, but could not do anything with only half chances. There were instances where Montreal's back line seemed fragile, but it got stronger as the match progressed. Time allowed the Impact to find their rhythm and organize themselves defensively.

When their back line was finally broken down, Perkins came up huge and made the appropriate stops. His stop on Le Toux right before halftime could be considered a turning point, even though there really wasn't one.

Offensively, the Impact can be happy with the way they were able to build out from the back properly without having to send long balls up. Montreal recovered possession and looked to play immediately on the ground to Bernier or Bernardello.

Montreal dictated play in the second half thanks to those two center midfielders. The team finished with 57 percent possession by the end of the match.

The only thing the Impact struggled on was in the attacking third. Montreal did not generate enough chances. They had four attempts on goal, only one of which hit the target.

A point is good on the road, but good teams often find a way to get three points in these matches where both sides struggle offensively. Montreal needs to be hungrier in New England next week if they want to get the win. Another draw wouldn't be bad either, but to make a cup run the team needs to be able to win away from Stade Saputo.

Montreal Impact Line-up
1 Perkins
5 Brovsky
13 Ferrari
14 Nesta
6 Camara
15 Romero
23 Bernardello
8 Bernier
21 Mapp
7 Felipe
9 Di Vaio

Substitutions: (56) Nyassi in for Romero; (78) Arnaud in for Felipe; (85) Warner in for Bernardello