COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Montreal Impact travels to MAPFRE Stadium, this Saturday, to take on Columbus Crew SC at 7:30pm EDT. The game will be broadcast on RDS (pregame show at 7pm), 98,5fm (pregame show at 6:30pm) and TSN Radio 690 (pregame show at 6:30pm).
“It’s important that we go there with the right mindset,” said head coach Mauro Biello. “We know that it’s going to be a difficult challenge for us. They have quality players that, at any point, can be dangerous. They have the ability to unbalance. But we need to go there with the attitude that we can get a result.”
Impact looking for second win against Columbus
The Impact (4-3-2, 14 pts) is about to play a second game against Crew SC in this fine start to the season. The Eastern Conference leaders won the first game between the two teams, a 2-0 triumph courtesy of goals by Hassoun Camara and Kyle Bekker that was the Impact’s fourth win against Crew SC since early 2015 and the 50th MLS win in club history.
While memories from the Impact’s last stop in Columbus aren’t the greatest – 3-1 defeat to knock the Impact out of the Eastern Conference semifinals –, the team had won on its previous visit. Maxim Tissot and Andrés Romero both scored in a 2-1 Impact win.
“Everybody’s ready,” said Dominic Oduro. “We won the first game, but for us, it’s about us getting better. We want to be smart, playing away from home. We take it one game at a time, and we also want to play and have fun. We’re trying to find our cruising altitude.”
Forward Didier Drogba missed that first game against Columbus, but he has found some rhythm since returning to the field. Drogba recently played three 90-minute games in eight days and has notched two goals and an assist thus far in 2016. With his goal against the Colorado Rapids last Saturday, Drogba is now tied with Patrice Bernier for third in the all-time Impact MLS scoring chart, with 13 tallies.
Maxim Tissot and Wandrille Lefèvre also reached significant milestones last Saturday. Tissot became the first Impact Homegrown Player to make 40 MLS appearances, while Lefèvre is the first Impact Academy product to start 30 games in the North American first division.
Goalkeeper Evan Bush, who was born and raised in Ohio, could play his 5,000th MLS minute this Saturday, in his home state.
Struggling Crew SC remains optimistic
After playing five of its first eight games of the season on the road, Crew SC (2-4-2, 8 pts) will play five of its next seven fixtures at home and hope that its MLS record can improve during that stretch. Gregg Berhalter’s team sits in ninth place in the MLS Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Chicago Fire.
Despite the imposing presence of Kei Kamara (22 goals last season), Crew SC has struggled to find the back of the net. The team has tallied a league-low seven goals, scoring once every 16 shots. On the other hand, Columbus has also conceded few goals – only ten, good for third-best defence in the East.
“We have to score in Columbus,” said Ignacio Piatti. “We have to play the ball to find chances and space. Crew SC wants to play soccer and build plays patiently. We know them well, and we hope that we’re getting three points out of this.”
Centre back Gastón Sauro, who suffered a hamstring injury during Crew SC’s loss in Montreal, could miss a fourth straight game. His midfield colleague Mohammed Saeid, for his part, has experienced concussion symptoms and skipped last weekend’s game in Seattle.
Upcoming games
The Montreal Impact’s following game is scheduled at Stade Saputo on Saturday, May 14, at 5pm EDT, taking on the Philadelphia Union (RDS, TDS, 98,5fm & TSN Radio 690). Excellent individual tickets, as well as season tickets and Pick-4-Packs, are still available on impactmontreal.com.
The Montreal Impact would like to remind supporters that its following game against the LA Galaxy on Sunday, May 29, has been rescheduled to Saturday, May 28, at 8pm EDT (RDS, 98,5fm & TSN Radio 690). All tickets dated May 29 for this game will be valid at all Stade Saputo entrances on May 28.
