The Bleu-blanc-noir finishes its preseason in St. Petersburg
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – The Montreal Impact lost 2-1 against the Tampa Bay Rowdies, the hosts of the MLS Suncoast Invitational, at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg on Saturday night. The Bleu-blanc-noir finishes its training camp with a record of two wins, one draw and two losses.
The first attacking action of the game came from Joe Cole in the ninth minute. The former West Ham and Chelsea player found space in the box to take a shot, but missed Evan Bush’s goal. One minute later, Cole knocked at the door again. He freed himself in front of the box, sending a shot towards goal that was blocked by Laurent Ciman. In the 19
th
minute, once again, Cole was one-on-one with the Impact goalkeeper, a golden chance that he took with his left foot, but his shot missed to Bush’s left.
In the 34
th
minute, Deshorn Brown played a free kick quickly, finding Joe Cole alone in the box. His left-footed shot was deflected by a sliding defender who, by trying to block the ball, put it in the goal. The Rowdies added to their total five minutes before the break. Luke Boden, on the left wing, crossed the ball on the ground. The ball was intercepted by Evan Bush, Joe Cole finding the ball first. His shot was stopped by Bush, but the rebound went to Brown, who doubled down for the hosts.
The Impact found its marks offensively after the break. In the 51
st
minute, Dominic Oduro, on the right, sent Mancosu behind the defense. He cut inside, but his shot with the left did not trouble Matt Pickens. In the 70
th
minute, Ambroise Oyongo sent a long ball towards Nick DePuy, who had joined the fold only a couple of seconds beforehand. The forward won his aerial duel, flicking the ball for Mancosu, who was tripped by two Rowdies defenders while entering the box. Nacho Piatti calmly dispatched the ensuing penalty to bring the Bleu-blanc-noir back in the game.
The Impact continued to push to find an equalizer and could have had at least one other penalty for rough play on Ciman after a corner or for holding Piatti who was free on the left, but the referee did not budge.
“We knew it would be a difficult, physical game,” said head coach Mauro Biello. “Overall, we were able to keep the majority of the ball, but we gave some goals that were too easy. We need to correct that. I know it’s the end of preseason and the players are looking forward to the start of the season. Their mindset is not at 100%, but it cannot be an excuse. You have to continue to work hard, all the time, no matter who the opponent is in front of you. We need to have that mentality.”
“The main course arrives next week,” said defender Hassoun Camara. “We will have to be ready and show we want to go to San Jose to win that game. I think we will have to be very focused defensively. We made small mistakes which cost us dearly tonight. It’s clear we have a lot of qualities. A game like tonight can be good for us too, to bring us back to earth. We have a season to prepare. It starts next week.”
The Impact's 2017 home opener, the climax of a full week of activities, takes place at the Olympic Stadium against the recently crowned MLS Cup champions, Seattle Sounders FC, on Saturday, March 11, at 7pm ET (TICKETS - TVA Sports). In the meantime, the Bleu-blanc-noir plays its first game of the season on Saturday, March 4, against the Earthquakes at San Jose's Avaya Stadium at 10pm ET (TVA Sports, TSN).
LINE-UPS
MTL – G- Evan Bush; D- Ambroise Oyongo, Laurent Ciman, Víctor Cabrera, Hassoun Camara (Chris Duvall, 69’); M- Ignacio Piatti, Patrice Bernier (Nick DePuy, 69’), Marco Donadel (Louis Béland-Goyette, 46’), Hernán Bernardello, Dominic Oduro (Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla, 69’); F- Matteo Mancosu (Anthony Jackson-Hamel, 87’).
TB – G- Matt Pickens (Akira Fitzgerald, 69’); D- Luke Boden, Neill Collins, Damion Lowe, Kyle Porter* (Justin Chavez, 83’); M- Leo Fernandes (Alex Morrell, 38’), Michael Nanchoff, Joe Cole (Georgi Hristov, 73’), Martin Vingaard, Darwin Jones; F- Deshorn Brown* (Martin Paterson, 58’).
Player on trial
GOALS
TB – Joe Cole 34’
TB – Deshorn Brown 40’
MTL – Ignacio Piatti 71’
CAUTIONS
TB – Georgi Hristov 74’
TB – Martin Vingaard 77’
MTL – Víctor Cabrera 89’
