Montreal falls in stoppage time despite second half comeback
The sports gods giveth, but they also taketh. For the Montreal Impact, that was the lesson learned on Saturday afternoon. After clawing its way back from two goals down, the Montreal Impact conceded a penalty during second half stoppage time, losing the game 3-2 after Zardes converted for his second goal of the game.
When it comes to losing, it doesn’t get any worse than that.
“We clearly deserved something out of this game,” said goalkeeper Evan Bush. “If not a win, at least a draw. We hit two crossbars, gave away two penalties, and another goal off a set piece. We feel hard done by the result, but like last week I think there’s a lot of positives to take. We need to remain confident because we did a lot of good things today.”
Vancouver repeat
Similarly to the game in Vancouver last week for the Impact’s season opener, the Bleu-blanc-noir conceded two goals before picking up the pace, earning more possession and better scoring chances than its opponent in the second half.
“Fortunately, and unfortunately, that seems to be a theme for us, coming on stronger in the second half,” explained defender Daniel Lovitz. “The guys on the field know that we feel confident most of the game but there are little things that happen that we have to work on. We’re going to address that and try to make that how we start the game.”
“We have a bit of a hard time getting into the game in the first half,” said midfielder Samuel Piette. “Maybe we’re lacking a little rhythm or confidence when the game begins. But we imposed our style of play in the second, we had to fight our way back and that’s what we did.
Encouraging play – but more results
The season is young; there are still 32 games left to play, and the Impact hasn’t even played its home opener yet. A tough schedule to start the season combined with the fact that six out of its first eight games are on the road means it was always going to be an uphill battle, but that hasn’t become an excuse in the locker room.
“You don’t want to build a season around positive things and no points,” added Bush. “I don’t think you’re going to get in the playoffs like that. We’re not concerned too much at this point because I think we’re playing pretty well. It’s just a couple of moments here and there where we make some mistakes and it costs us.”
Head coach Rémi Garde said after the loss in Columbus that despite encouraging signs, the team would need to get points in the bank as of next game, when Toronto FC comes to town on Saturday, March 17 at 3pm, for the Impact’s home opener at Olympic Stadium (TVA Sports, CTV, TSN, 98,5fm, TSN Radio 690 – TICKETS)
