Tough start on Saturday underlines Bleu-blanc-noir’s performance
Things are difficult for the Impact at the moment, despite there still being lots of soccer to be played in the 2018 campaign. But when the going gets tough, the tough get going, which is exactly what head coach Rémi Garde plans to do.
“We’re going to work at training,” said Garde. “Crying and feeling bad for ourselves is not the way to break out of this very bad situation. It’s about behaving like men, so that we assess ourselves honestly and see what we can do.”
The Impact capped off its busiest week of the season so far with a loss at home on Saturday to the Philadelphia Union. Despite some good opportunities, the Bleu-blanc-noir wasn’t able to repeat last Saturday’s performance against New England. And when you fail to capitalize on your chances, especially in this league, you end up paying for it.
“The bounces weren’t necessarily on our side, but that happens,” said striker Anthony Jackson-Hamel. “We weren’t lucky. But at the same time, we knew what we had to do to hurt our opponents and we didn’t do it. Sometimes, there’s a simple play in front of us, but we insist on making it more complicated.”
Coming out flat
Montreal’s supporters have become accustomed to excitement at Stade Saputo this year, with the Impact having scored seven goals in its first two games here. But the players and staff agreed after the game that the team didn’t come out like it needed to after referee Kevin Stott blew the whistle to kick things off.
“It didn’t go the way we wanted it to go at the start, and we chased the game after that,” added Garde. “When we attack, it’s all together, and when we defend, that also concerns everyone. I believe football is a total sport. We can’t blame a lack of goals on the forwards, just like we don’t blame only the defenders when we get scored on.”
Montreal did get in on goal a few times. In the first half, Raheem Edwards was able to break through on the wing and get a shot off, but the Union’s ‘keeper stifled the attempt. In the second half, Silva found Taïder in alone, but his header was miscalculated and missed just wide.
“We’re missing solutions offensively,” said Impact midfielder Nacho Piatti. “We need to hold the ball more because right now, we’re losing it too easily. If we hold the ball, their defense comes out further to get it. We need to work on that aspect of our game.”
25th anniversary commemorative game
The Impact will host Zlatan Ibrahimović and the LA Galaxy on Monday, May 21, at 3pm (TVA Sports, TSN, 98,5fm, TSN Radio 690), exactly 25 years after the club played its first ever game in Montreal, back in 1993. Individual tickets for the game are sold out, although you can still purchase a ticket by taking advantage of our Pick-5 or our 10-For-9 packages, and selecting the game against LA Galaxy. The stage is set for the Impact to bounce back and offer its fans a performance worthy of the stage.
“We go back to the training pitch on Tuesday and we focus on the next game,” said defender Michael Petrasso. “We can’t dwell on this because there’s still a long season to go. Next game, we’ll come out much stronger.”
