New York just below the playoff line after nine games
You may take a quick glance at the standings and see that the Impact’s next opponent, the New York Red Bulls, has just three wins after nine games, placing them below the playoff line with almost a third of the season out of the way.
While the Impact, with five wins, including three on the road, sits third in the Eastern Conference, just three points behind the leaders. But that doesn’t mean it’s a team that should be underestimated, far from it. The Impact already knows that, of course: after nine regular-season games at Red Bull Arena, Montreal is still looking for its first point.
“They shouldn’t be where they are in the standings, but it’s telling of the quality present in this league,” said Designated Player Saphir Taïder. “Everyone is competitive, everyone can win. We know New York is good, but we’re going there with the same ambitions as always: to bring back points and to play structured, like we have since the start of the season.”
If there was a time to leave Red Bull Arena with a positive result, it’s now: Rémi Garde’s men have been stellar on the road so far this year, matching last year’s point total after just eight games away from home. They haven’t conceded a goal on the road in 123 minutes, and every time the Impact suffered a loss this season, it was almost always followed it up with a clean sheet.
Considering Saturday’s 2-0 loss to the other New York team, we can expect the group to bounce back in New Jersey tonight.
“We don’t want to focus and tie ourselves too much on results,” said full-back Daniel Lovitz. “The most important thing is to build something sustainable in ourselves, whether that’s a style of play, an attitude, a competitive nature, or all of the above. These are the stretches where that really benefits the team. If we do those things right, the results will more or less take care of themselves.”
Montreal certainly seems to be going in the right direction, as their performances thus far in 2019 have proven. Their character will be tested once again this week, as Montreal will leave New York and travel directly to Cincinnati for its 10th away game of the season, this Saturday at 1pm (TVA Sports, TSN, 98.5, TSN 690).
“We still have to be in the mindset of playing 90 minutes at a time,” added Lovitz. “Although each game may be unique, we need to be consistent in the way we approach it and in the attitude we bring on the field.”
