Montreal travels to D.C. in critical Eastern Conference showdown
This is it. The big one. For the Impact and its supporters, this is one of the most important Decision Days in recent history. The standings in the Eastern Conference cannot be any tighter.
Montreal leads the pack of playoff hopefuls in ninth, with 23 points. The Chicago Fire, who played its game in hand against Minnesota United, earning a draw, is level at 23 points and sits in 10th.
And trailing behind the playoff line are Atlanta United, with 22 points, Inter Miami, with 21 points, and finally, D.C. United, the Impact’s next opponent, with 21 points.
For Thierry Henry’s men, there are still multiple ways to participate in the fall tournament, but the easiest path is with a win this Sunday against the Washington representatives, which would automatically qualify Montreal in ninth.
“We’ve worked all season for this,” said Impact goalkeeper Clément Diop. “We’re in contention and we’re the ones that put ourselves in this position. We don’t want to take anything away from that. It’s been difficult for us, the staff, and everyone who’s been here with us in New Jersey. We didn’t do all of this for nothing. That’s why we want to be in the playoffs and that’s why we deserve to be in the playoffs.”
The task won’t be easy, however, against a D.C. United side that also finds itself in a must-win situation and that’s won three of its last four games.
“It’s been a long season with a lot of up and downs, but now it’s time to show that we can be a playoff team,” said Impact defender Jukka Raitala. “We have to focus on ourselves, be positive, and fight as hard as we can. We’ve had opportunities to take a spot and we didn’t. So now, it’s important to focus on us and on how we play in this game. We need to win, it’s quite simple.”
The game against D.C. United will kick off at 3:30pm EST and will be broadcast on TVA Sports, TSN, 98.5fm, and TSN 690. You can get a clearer view of the playoff picture here.
