Montreal Impact 0 – Philadelphia 0
The Impact were on the road for their latest match. The Montreal Impact and the Philadelphia Union played out to a scoreless draw on Saturday at PPL Park.
The Impact kept things simple for this match and didn't change anything in terms of starting formation and lineup from their previous match. And why would they? This formula gave the team two straight league victories, including last week's drubbing against the Houston Dynamo.
Although the same players were on the pitch, tactics were different with this being an away fixture. The Impact did not push forward as much as they do when at home and instead concentrated their efforts defensively.
Their tactics seemed to work, as the Union only tested Impact goalkeeper Troy Perkins with four shots on target. Montreal did not concede a goal and that alone gave the team a good chance to maybe steal a win.
Unfortunately, the team were harmless up front and generated fewer chances than their opponents.
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 (MOTM)
A very good performance from Perkins. He was up for every challenge and came up big when he had to. With Perkins, the team plays with a sense of security and things are less worrisome when there's a reliable and trustworthy keeper like Perkins in goal.
Your rating:
LB - Jeb Brovsky - 6
Brovsky was consistent like usual. He made good plays and fulfilled his responsibilities. There were a few instances where Brovsky put the team in trouble with a bad touch or pass, but he or his teammates would solve the problem.
Your rating:
CB - Matteo Ferrari - 6.5
Ferrari and the rest of the back line looked a bit shaky when the match started, but quickly settled down. Ferrari wasn't perfect, but wasn't bad either. At the end of the night, he helped the team to a rare clean sheet in an away game.
Your rating:
CB - Alessandro Nesta - 6.5
Nesta committed a few more errors than usual, but was still good nonetheless. Like Ferrari, he was good defensively by closing the gaps, winning battles and preventing Philadelphia from scoring.
Your rating:
RB - Hassoun Camara - 7
The Frenchman was the most consistent of the Impact defenders. Whereas some of his teammates made a few minor errors, Camara did not. Camara shut down most players who came down his flank, tucked in the center when it was required and handled different situations correctly.
Your rating:
LM - Andrés Romero - 5
He had a quiet match and did not standout in any way. He flew under the radar with his performance and was the first to be subbed off in the second half. Sanna Nyassi replaced him.
Your rating:
CM - Hernán Bernardello - 6.5
He looks more and more comfortable playing in the starting XI. Bernardello and Bernier did a good job dictating play in the second half, but had some troubles earlier on doing so. Defensively, Bernardello could have been a bit more aggressive to recover balls. His passes, in terms of quality and vision, were good as usual.
Your rating:
CM - Patrice Bernier - 6
In the second half, he was solid, but he had some trouble in the first. Bernier misplaced some of his passes and gave away possession too cheaply at times. He did well to recover some balls and cut some passing lanes.
Your rating:
RM - Justin Mapp - 6.5
Mapp created the game's first quality scoring chance. He won a ball near the center line, cruised towards the box and hit a good ball that was spilled by the keeper. Mapp did well when he was in possession. His decisions were often right; he used his weaker foot to cross and was a threat at many times.
Your rating:
CF - Felipe - 5.5
He had an okay game. He was not as active as he was in Montreal's previous two league matches, but was still acceptable. He had problems connecting with Di Vaio well like he does because he was never given lots of space or time on the ball.
Your rating:
ST - Marco Di Vaio - 5.5
It's never good when your lone striker doesn't get even one shot on target. Di Vaio isn't the type of player to go all-out individually in order to change the outcome of a game. However, he usually does extremely well given the situations presented to him. He tends to make the most out of everything. He didn't hit the target once, but his two shots were Montreal's best chances.
Your rating:
Substitutes:
56th - Sanna Nyassi - 5
78th - Davy Arnaud - 5
85th - Collen Warner - 5
|