Defensive rigour in the first half, offensive vigour after the break
How to interpret Sunday night’s result at BC Place? On one end, the loss against the Whitecaps means the Impact starts this season on the wrong foot; on the other end, we can rejoice in the Impact’s performance to begin the second half, when Montreal took the game to Vancouver offensively, after a first half of defensive austerity – austerity that allowed the Impact to concede zero shots from inside the box, a first on the road since 2012.
The head coach said it: we’ll need to build on what the Impact did well and correct what didn’t go so well. If the team was dangerous after the break, dominating possession and pushing its opponent into its own zone on numerous occasions, it’s also during this spell that the Impact conceded twice. Here are your advanced stats from this Sunday’s game against the ‘Caps.
1 shot, 55 successful passes (Impact best), including 17 in the final third, for an 86% success rate, 3 dribbles completed, 2 chances created, 9 duels won for a 53% success rate, 1 tackle won, 9 recoveries, 85 touches (more than any player on both teams).
Daniel Lovitz
25 successful passes, including 4 in the final third, for a 93% success rate, 3 dribbles completed, 3 successful crosses, 2 chances created, 9 duels won for a 69% success rate, 3 tackles won, 1 interception, 8 recoveries, 63 touches.
7 chances created
2 by Saphir Taïder, 2 by Daniel Lovitz, 2 by Samuel Piette and 1 by Raheem Edwards
Matteo Mancosu
1 goal, 2 shots, 14 successful passes, including 6 in the final third, for a 70% success rate, 1 dribble completed, 7 duels won for a 54% success rate, 5 aerial duels won, 29 touches.
