An Impact goal at BMO Field would put Toronto against the wall
The Montreal Impact finds itself in somewhat of a dilemma heading into Wednesday’s game against Toronto FC. Wilmer Cabrera’s men will travel to BMO Field with a 1-0 lead, and although it remains a slight advantage, it remains an advantage all the same.
That doesn’t mean the Colombian head coach will sit back and try to defend his team’s lead, because he knows that if the Impact can do what this Wednesday’s hosts failed to do in the first leg – score a goal –, it would put their backs against the fence, with the Impact in prime position to hoist the club’s 10th Voyageurs Cup.
“I never sit back in my life. It’s not in my personality,” said Impact head coach Wilmer Cabera. “I cannot sit back, because I don’t feel like myself. Of course, we need to respect our opponent and defend correctly, but in this sport, the most important thing is to score one more goal than your opponent. For us to do that, we need to find ways to attack.”
For those unfamiliar with the away goal rule in these types of competitions, here’s what it means for Montreal: an Impact goal at BMO Field Wednesday night would force the Reds to score three goals, not an impossible task but definitely a difficult one.
“Scoring is very important,” said Impact defender Daniel Lovitz. “Obviously, we’d like to score in the first 10 seconds and then again right after, but it’s tough. We want to be realistic. There are always different ways of managing these types of competitions that feature two legs, especially now that it’s the final. In no way are we afraid of going to Toronto and playing there, regardless of what our results have been this year. We’re excited.”
It definitely leaves head coach Wilmer Cabrera and his staff much to think about as the final looms closer. Fortunately, it looks like they’ll be able to count on Bojan and Maxi Urruti, who both exited the first leg last week with injuries, and Piatti, who was rested on the weekend, so the Impact will definitely have the necessary firepower to find the back of the net in the Queen City.
“As long as we’re all on the same page, we have the talent and the ability to go there and get a result,” added Lovitz. “Hopefully it’s five goals in their net and zero in ours, but anything in between that allows us to hold the trophy at the end of the day, we’ll get behind.”
