Portland Timbers 1 – Montreal Impact 2
Two matches, two victories. The Montreal Impact return home after starting the season with six points on the road. Hassoun Camara's overhead kick goal in the 30th minute and Felipe's goal in the 60th minute sealed an Impact 2-1 victory over the Portland Timbers.
Head coach Marco Schällibaum was forced to make one change following Justin Mapp's injury after the Seattle match. Sanna Nyassi replaced Mapp in a straight sub. The Impact kept the same 4-1-4-1 formation, with Patrice Bernier in the defensive midfield role and Marco Di Vaio as the lone striker.
Besides Mapp's injury, Nelson Rivas (knee), Maxim Tissot (shoulder) and Sinisa Ubiparipovic (calf) were all unavailable due to injury. Schallibaum's bench consisted of Evan Bush, Andrés Romero, Dennis Iapichino, Calum Mallace, Collen Warner and Andrew Wenger.
The key to the ratings, as seems to be the logic on a scale of 1-10, is not to view it as a “grade”, as in a 6 would be a 60 or a C. The formula is that each player begins the game with a 5 and is the equilibrium from which their performance either improves or degrades moving in increments of .5.
Here is the breakdown of the starting XI:
GK - Troy Perkins - 7.5
Playing against his former team in his former stadium, Perkins lived up to the pressure and played phenomenally for 90 minutes. Perkins had six shots on target and only allowed one 10 minutes before time. Perkins made some impressive saves by sliding out to challenge various shooters, including one with seconds before the final whistle.
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LB - Jeb Brovsky - 6.5
Brovsky is showing very well he can play at the same level as his experienced European teammates. Brovsky protected his side of the pitch well. Under Schällibaum's system, the fullbacks close inside tightly which Brovsky did well.
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CB - Matteo Ferrari - 7
The former Italian international had a good showing against the Timbers. He made some clutch tackles near the area, blocked some shots and won most of his aerial battles. Ferrari is a commanding force on the Impact back line. His only fault is coming in late sometimes on tackles in dangerous situations.
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CB - Alessandro Nesta - 7.5
For most of the first half, Nesta was easily one of the best defenders on the pitch. He can foresee and breakdown many opponent scoring chances. When he has the ball, he stays very calm, despite having an opposing player pressure him. Nesta starts slow down as the match progresses, but still remains strong nonetheless.
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RB - Hassoun Camara - 8 (MOTM)
This was probably one of his best performances as an Impact player, even going back to the NASL days. Camara was at the top of his game when defending, thwarting many Timbers chances down the flank. His only mistake was on the goal where he failed to secure the inside lane on Ryan Johnson. Offensively, Camara got forward and it paid off when he scored a thrilling bicycle kick in the 30th minute.
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CDM - Patrice Bernier - 7
Bernier had a good 90 minutes in Portland. He played his defensive midfield role well by always applying pressure when his opponents passed through the middle. Bernier is the extra support ahead of the center back. This ensures the middle stays closed and covered at all times. Bernier made a fair amount of recoveries and interceptions. He did a fantastic job cancelling out Timbers star Diego Valeri.
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LM - Sanna Nyassi - 6
Nyassi got the start in this match after coming on as a substitute against the Sounders. He played as an outside left midfielder, but switched flanks briefly at times with Andrea Pisanu/ Andrés Romero. Nyassi did not use his pace as much as he could have, but he still did a decent job overall. Without the ball, Nyassi was aggressive, but almost gave up a late first half penalty.
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CM - Felipe - 6.5
Felipe started the match well by creating a few early chances for his side. He combined well with Di Vaio and almost opened the scoring. He would end up scoring later in the match, when he ran onto Romero's pass inside the box. The Brazilian's passes were not as strong and accurate as they usually were.
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CM - Davy Arnaud - 6
The Captain was not as influential as he was last match, but he still played decently. Arnaud worked hard going into to challenges and sneaking into the box. He didn't have any major scoring chances, but always seemed in decent position. With Felipe being the playmaker, Arnaud's role as the other center midfielder is solely to support.
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RM - Andrea Pisanu - 6.5
Appearing in his second match, Pisanu was much more involved offensively. On-loan from Bologna, the Italian plays quick and smart. He's always looking for quick throw-ins or free kick when he has the chance. He provided good crosses for Di Vaio. Fitness is an issue, as Pisanu slowed down in the second half and was eventually subbed off for Romero.
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ST - Marco Di Vaio - 6
Di Vaio had a bit of trouble finding good opportunities to score. His best chance came in the 21st minute when he found space behind the Portland back line and should have scored his header. Donovan Ricketts made a diving stop to deny the Italian. At many times in the match, Di Vaio tracked back which was good, but failed to get back up quick enough when Montreal did have possession.
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Substitutes:
59th - Andrés Romero - 6
75th - Andrew Wenger - 5
87th - Collen Warner - 5
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