CHESTER, Pennsylvania – For the fifth time in seven games this season, the Montreal Impact plays on the road, this Saturday, when it takes on the Philadelphia Union at Talen Energy Stadium at 1pm EDT (TVA Sports [pregame show at 12:30pm], 98,5FM [pregame show at 12:30pm] & TSN Radio 690 [pregame show at 12pm]).
“When you believe, things can turn in your favour, and that’s what happened. But we also know that there is still a lot of work ahead of us,” said Impact head coach Mauro Biello. “We’ll be facing a team that will come out and try to make things happen. We need to be ready for everything that they’re going to give us, and we must do everything we can on our end to go and get points.”
Impact approaches latest road trip with confidence
One week after grabbing a 50th win at Stade Saputo in all competitions since joining MLS, the Impact returns on the road with confidence. The Bleu-blanc-noir has done well in its last three away games, picking up points at New York City FC and at the Chicago Fire before a harsh red card tilted an otherwise competitive matchup in the LA Galaxy’s favour.
“We just have to be smart and approach this game the way that we did our last games on the road,” said Dominic Oduro. “We’ve done well on the road by being smart and trying to remain compact. Going on the road is tough, but we’ve got to make our chances count.”
Montreal defender Hassoun Camara could leave his mark in the club history book, this Saturday, as he is a mere 90 minutes from reaching 10,000 minutes played in MLS. Camara, who also logged 1,949 minutes in 2011 for the then-second division Impact, would be the first-ever Bleu-blanc-noir player to reach such a milestone. The all-time leader for minutes played with the Impact is current head coach Mauro Biello, with 25,288.
The Bleu-blanc-noir is only two goals away from reaching 900 regular-season goals in club history (second division + MLS). Goal #800 belongs to Andrés Romero, who tallied in the 29th minute of a 4-1 Impact home win over Real Salt Lake on May 16, 2015.
After returning to the field and scoring last Saturday, Nacho Piatti now only trails Marco Di Vaio by two goals in the Impact all-time MLS scoring charts. Di Vaio scored 34 goals for the Bleu-blanc-noir, while Piatti has registered 32 thus far.
Union looking for first win
The Bleu-blanc-noir will be wary of a Union team determined to pick up all three points for the first time this season. Jim Curtin’s men have not won a competitive game since August 27, 2016, and have just suffered their fourth straight defeat.
“Philadelphia has yet to win, but it is still a very good team,” said Nacho Piatti. “Every game is difficult in MLS, including at their place. But we’ve just won a home game, and we’re confident as we go to Philadelphia and look to get three points. We’ll need to be very focused.”
The Impact has posted a record of five wins, three losses and five ties against the Union since joining MLS, only losing two of its six games at Talen Energy Stadium. Dominic Oduro has scored four career goals against the Union, while Nacho Piatti and Matteo Mancosu have both tallied twice. Patrice Bernier, Ambroise Oyongo and Andrés Romero, meanwhile, have all delivered three assists against Philadelphia.
The Union still has a number of regular contributors on the injury list. On the bright side, defender Joshua Yaro (shoulder) is running again, while goalkeeper John McCarthy (concussion) has returned to training.
Following game
The Impact will play its second game at Stade Saputo this season on Saturday, April 29, at 3pm EDT against Vancouver Whitecaps FC (TVA Sports, CTV, 98,5FM & TSN Radio 690). Excellent tickets for this game, as well as season tickets and mini season packages, are still available on impactmontreal.com.
