MONTREAL – The Montreal Impact will play four of its next five games in all competitions at Stade Saputo, starting this Saturday at 5pm EDT against Columbus Crew SC (TVA Sports [pregame show at 4:30pm], 98,5FM [pregame show at 4:30pm] & TSN Radio 690 [pregame show at 4pm]), a game presented by Husqvarna.
Excellent tickets for this game are still available on impactmontreal.com. In an effort to support the victims of severe flooding in the Greater Montreal Area and in many regions of Quebec, the club will donate $1 to the Canadian Red Cross for every ticket sold for this game.
“We want to bounce back from the game we had against Vancouver,” said Impact head coach Mauro Biello. “I think it was a good performance against D.C., but our job is not done until we take care of what we need to at home. It’s an important match against Columbus, a team from the East. We need to build on what we did in the last game and have a good performance against them. We are focused on what we need to do to be successful.”
The Impact recommends that supporters use public transit and get to the stadium early – doors open at 3:30pm. Due to transformation work at the corner of Pie-IX Blvd. and Sherbrooke St., traffic delays may occur in the Olympic Park area, notably on Charlemagne Ave., Rachel St., and Jeanne-d’Arc St.
As always, the MLS Bag Policy will be in effect. All backpacks, camera bags and large tote bags, as well as all bags bigger than 35 cm x 35 cm x 15 cm are prohibited.
Please also note that parking entrances have changed names since last season. Entrance PB is now called P5 (orange), while entrance PA has made way for entrances P1, P2 & P4 (yellow).
A first for Dzemaili?
The Impact welcomed a prestigious signing on Tuesday, as Swiss international midfielder Blerim Dzemaili joined the Bleu-blanc-noir. The 31-year-old Dzemaili scored eight goals and added three assists in 31 Italian Serie A games this season with Bologna FC 1909. After missing Bologna’s most recent game as a precaution, Dzemaili should be available for selection by head coach Mauro Biello.
The Bleu-blanc-noir thus had a good week, as the team rests on a 1-0 win at D.C. United last Saturday. This first clean sheet of the season brought some reassurance to the Impact’s defence.
“The mood is great right now,” said goalkeeper Evan Bush. “We knew all along that we were going to get out of this. We felt, going into D.C., that we deserved three points for the work that we’d been putting in, and we’re now focused on facing a good Columbus team.”
The end of a busy week for Crew SC
Fourth-placed Columbus Crew SC will play a third game in eight days this Saturday at Stade Saputo. After a 2-0 win against the New England Revolution last Saturday, Crew SC conceded twice in the last ten minutes on Wednesday night against Toronto FC and suffered a 2-1 home loss.
Unbeaten last year against Crew SC, the Bleu-blanc-noir hasn’t lost a regular season game against Columbus since September 27, 2014, at MAPFRE Stadium – a 2-0 defeat.
“We’re focused,” said defender Laurent Ciman. “We’ll try to make up for past mistakes and show a different face at home. Our home should be a fortress, and we have to make it difficult for opponents to come and win here.”
The Impact’s home record against Crew SC stands at four wins in six attempts, and the team has only conceded four goals in those games. In 14 regular season games overall, the Impact has scored 19 goals, seven of which came in the last quarter-hour of games. Nacho Piatti and Dominic Oduro have both tallied four goals and two assists over the course of their respective careers against Crew SC.
Following games
The Impact will be back at Stade Saputo on Saturday, May 20, at 3pm, against the Portland Timbers (TVA Sports, 98,5FM & TSN Radio 690). Excellent tickets for this game, as well as season tickets, are still available on impactmontreal.com.
