Impact perfect at home against the Utah representatives
Mike Petke’s men must be pretty happy with the fact that they only travel to Montreal once every two years. Their four visits to Quebec since the Impact joined MLS have all consisted of losses. It was more of the same, last night at Stade Saputo: Montreal made its presence felt in Salt Lake’s final third, hitting the crossbar after just 65 seconds of play, while Omar Browne scored the go-ahead goal in first-half stoppage time, the Impact’s first goal in the first half since the game on March 16 in Orlando.
Taïder had an opportunity to redeem his missed chance from the penalty spot, taking advantage of a foul committed on Bacary Sagna and whistled down by the referee, and despite a goal from Sam Johnson with minutes left to play, the Impact held on defensively and three more points were added in the standings.
The victory is excellent for the confidence of Rémi Garde’s men, who began a sequence of three consecutive home games in eight days at Stade Saputo. The next game is just around the corner: Orlando City SC, with a week of rest behind them, will be in Montreal this Saturday at 5pm (TICKETS – TVA Sports, TSN, 98.5, TSN 690). Will the Impact be able to continue its steady rise in the Eastern Conference standings, now just two points out of first place? We’ll have part of the answer Saturday, but for now, here are your advanced stats.
Bacary Sagna: 1 penalty won, 1 assist, 39 successful passes, including 19 in the final third, for an 85% success rate, 2 chances created, 1 successful cross, 1 dribble completed, 8 duels won, 1 tackle won, 2 clearances, 4 recoveries, 66 touches.
Saphir Taïder: 1 goal, 3 shots, 1 on target, 41 successful passes, including 13 in the final third, for an 80% success rate, 2 chances created, 1 successful cross, 1 dribble completed, 2 duels won, 1 interception, 2 clearances, 8 recoveries, 68 touches.
Shamit Shome: 1 assist, 19 successful passes, including 7 in the final third, for a 76% success rate, 1 chance created, 2 dribbles completed, 8 duels won, 1 tackle won, 1 clearance, 2 recoveries, 38 touches.
Omar Browne: 1 goal, 2 shots, 1 on target, 17 successful passes, including 9 in the final third, for a 71% success rate, 1 chance created, 1 successful cross, 1 dribble completed, 5 duels won, 1 tackle won, 4 recoveries, 51 touches.
