Impact’s winless streak in Houston continues
After starting the 2019 season with a comeback win in San Jose, this last-minute loss to the Dynamo casts a shadow on what was otherwise a very positive start to the campaign for the Bleu-blanc-noir, who also conceded just one goal through its five preseason games.
With four more road games to go before this team returns to the confines of Stade Saputo, now is most certainly not the time to press the panic button, especially after Rémi Garde’s men were but a few minutes away from leaving Houston with an additional point in the standings.
“I think there was a drop in our energy levels,” said midfielder Samuel Piette. “We didn’t have the same attitude as in San Jose and we weren’t as good individually. I think something was missing more from an attitude perspective than a tactical one.”
Although both teams were a little slow coming out of the gate, Montreal came back from the locker room in the second half with a little more pace than its counterpart, spending more time in the attacking third, but the home team did a good job of tightening things up between the lines in its defensive zone.
“We played a good team,” said centre back Zakaria Diallo. “We were better in the second half in terms of possession, but we were unable to finish our chances, and at the end we conceded a goal. We need to continue working hard and keep our foot on the gas pedal. The best thing we could do is bounce back on Saturday.”
No time to panic
Saturday’s result, a 2-1 loss for Rémi Garde’s men, could have had a different outcome. The Bleu-blanc-noir opened the scoring first, only to see the home team tie things up a minute later. Then, with just a few minutes remaining, Houston managed to break through and secure all three points.
“We can’t just be content with this loss,” said head coach Rémi Garde. “We’ll analyze it and find the real reasons behind it. At the same time, we most certainly can’t erase everything we’ve done up to now. We’ll continue to lean on our foundation and continue working every week. That’s every footballer’s constant challenge.”
The Impact will have a chance to bounce back this Saturday in Florida, when it takes on Orlando City SC at Orlando City Stadium at 4pm (TVA Sports, 98.5).
