Goalkeeper Clément Diop starts first MLS game with Impact
Clément Diop sure knows how to seize an opportunity.
This is the French goalkeeper’s second year with the Montreal Impact, after joining the club before the start of the 2018 season. Finally, on Sunday, Diop earned his first start in MLS and did quite well: a 1-1 draw against defending champion Atlanta United.
Unfortunately for him, the result, not to mention a win from New England against New York City FC, means the Impact was also officially eliminated from the playoff race following Sunday’s game.
“We’re obviously disappointed,” said goalkeeper Clément Diop. “We believed until the very end. On my end, as a competitor, I always want to play. If they tell me to play, I’ll be ready. I work hard every day with Rémy Vercoutre (the goalkeeper coach, ed) and the other goalkeepers. I try and stay as focused as possible for when they do need me.”
After splitting the net in the quarter-final and semi-final rounds of the Canadian Championship with homegrown goalkeeper James Pantemis, Diop was given the nod in the final against Toronto and he didn’t disappoint: the French ‘keeper allowed just one goal over two games and his heroics in the penalty shootout were essential in Montreal lifting its 10th Voyageurs Cup.
“The first thing he did against Toronto was punch a cross away,” said head coach Wilmer Cabrera. “When you do that, you generate confidence in your teammates. He had a good game and he was excellent during the shootout. That momentum, I thought it was important for the team. Again, against Atlanta, he was very good. He saved the team in the moments the team needed to be saved.”
That momentum definitely followed him into his first MLS start, just as the head coach predicted; Diop finished the night with five saves, including two spectacular dives against Ezequiel Barco and Hector Villalba in the game’s closing minutes, to keep the score level and get the crowd on its feet.
“He was fantastic,” said centre-back Rod Fanni. “He made some incredible saves and I’m very happy for him. He works hard at training every day and he doesn’t often get the opportunity to express himself. He got an opportunity to do it now and he did very well.”
It may have been his last opportunity as well, as the Impact now has just one game left to play before the end of the MLS regular season, on Sunday, October 6, when the New York Red Bulls will visit Stade Saputo at 4pm (TICKETS – TVA Sports, TSN, 98.5, TSN 690).
