Bleu-blanc-noir must win on MLS Decision Day
FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts – The Montreal Impact must absolutely win, this Sunday at 4:30pm against the New England Revolution (TVA Sports, TSN, 98,5fm, TSN Radio 690) at Gillette Stadium, if it hopes to qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs. Montreal will also need some help from Minnesota United FC, who must beat or draw Sunday at the same time against the Columbus Crew SC, currently sixth in the Eastern Conference and just two points in front of the Impact.
“I don’t feel that my group is feverish, but I don’t think it’s overconfident either,” said head coach Rémi Garde. “We’re along the same line we’ve been on lately. I feel the group is determined to give everything until the end to have no regrets, even if we already have some considering our position, and considering what we accomplished in the second half of the season.”
Victory at all costs
The Impact, currently on a two-game win streak, with four wins in its last six games, and a record of eight wins, four losses, and four draws since the mid-season mark, must come away with all three points on a field the Bleu-blanc-noir hasn’t had much success on recently: its last win goes back to 2015, the team having failed to score in its last three games in the Boston suburb.
“We have a conquering state of mind at the moment, because we don’t have any other choice,” said defender Rod Fanni. “We have an obligation to win if we hope to make it. Our objective remains the same, and that’s to qualify for the playoffs. It would be unfortunate to miss them because we didn’t do the job on our end. We’ll do whatever it takes to do what we have to do, and we’ll see what happens.”
“We have one objective and that’s to win this game,” said defender Bacary Sagna. “We’ll have to be patient and think about time. Since I arrived here, we’ve created chances offensively in every game. Now, it’ll be important to maintain our shape and stay solid defensively. We can’t let time stress us. We’re better off staying focused and giving our best.”
Nacho Piatti, a productive leader
As the last game of the 2018 MLS regular season approaches, it becomes quickly obvious that Nacho Piatti is one of the best players in the league, and his name continues to circulate when discussing the league’s MVP once again this year. The Impact’s number 10 reached double digits in the two most important offensive categories, goals and assists, for the first time since joining the Bleu-blanc-noir in 2014. He’s been particularly successful against the Revs, having scored three goals while adding another four assists in eight games against the Revolution.
Revolution turning slowly
Sunday’s hosts have had less success in the second half of the season: the Revs, who were fourth in the East in the beginning of the season, have won just two games since the beginning of July. For this game, defenders Chris Tierney and Andrew Farrell will be unavailable due to injury, putting them in difficulty in the right and left-back positions.
Impact pays your ticket
Members travelling with the Ultras Montréal 2002 and 1642MTL supporter groups to New England won’t need to pay their ticket to enter Gillette Stadium, the entrance fee having already been covered by the Impact.
“There will be close to a hundred Impact supporters making the trip,” underlined Garde. “It’s always great and very important for the players.”
Upcoming game
If the Impact qualifies for the MLS Cup playoffs, the Bleu-blanc-noir’s knockout game will take place on Wednesday, October 31 or Thursday, November 1, against New York City FC or against the Philadelphia Union at Talen Energy Stadium. More details regarding these games will be available Sunday, after MLS Decision Day.