Citizens still winless in 2019
NEW YORK, New York – The Montreal Impact will kick off a sequence of three games in eight days when it plays its fifth fixture of the 2019 MLS regular season, this Saturday at 1pm in the Bronx, against New York City FC (TVA Sports, 98.5, TSN 690).
“The first thing I want to see is intensity,” said Impact head coach Rémi Garde. “We’re all impatient to start forgetting last weekend’s nightmare. It’s the first ingredient, but others will be necessary as well. We need to be much smarter tactically than we were last game. We need to be stronger mentally because New York knows how to play the game well.”
Busy week ahead
The Impact is at the beginning of a busy week, which will culminate with its home opener at Stade Saputo. The opportunity is there for Rémi Garde’s men to finish this long stretch of six road games to start the season in style, a stretch they should be satisfied with up to now, with two wins and two losses on the books; however, the Impact holds a record of just one win, five losses and three draws against New York City FC.
“We’ve been having good sessions this week,” said midfielder Orji Okwonkwo. “The head coach is very vocal about what he wants us to do on the pitch this Saturday. We have to learn from last week’s game and take it into New York. We know the field is a little different, but we’re professionals playing 11 against 11. We just have to go there and do our thing.”
Diallo and Novillo available
Montreal will be able to count on Zakaria Diallo and Harry Novillo, both back in the line-up, while Nacho Piatti will miss his second straight game due to a knee injury.
If he plays, it’ll be Samuel Piette’s 50th game with the Impact, all starts, since his arrival to the club in August 2017. Goalkeeper Evan Bush, on his end, is only 51 minutes away from having played 15,000 minutes in an Impact uniform, becoming the first ‘keeper to reach the milestone. Finally, the Impact is just three goals away from 1000th scored in club history.
“It’s very important for us to have a bounce-back performance,” emphasized midfielder Samuel Piette. “We need to be better after that loss. Doesn’t matter who the opponent is, we know what we have to do to be better. We need to be aggressive, involved, and intense for 90 minutes. I think this game in New York comes at a good time. We’re expecting an intense and physical contest.”
Slow start for the Citizens
Not much is going well for Domè Torrent’s men after four games. Offensively, the team is struggling, having scored just four goals in as many games while being shut out twice, and New York remains one of just six MLS teams without a win in 2019. To make things worse, they won’t be able to count on Maxi Moralez this weekend as he’s suffering from a leg injury.
Upcoming games
The Impact will have just a short break after its round-trip flight to Manhattan, since the club takes on D.C. United on Tuesday, April 9, at 8pm at Audi Field, in the American capital (TVA Sports). After, it’ll finally be time for the much-awaited home opener, for the first time ever at Stade Saputo, on Saturday, April 13, at 1pm against the Columbus Crew SC (TICKETS – TVA Sports, 98.5, TSN 690).
