COMMERCE CITY, Colorado - A game that saw the Montreal Impact dominate possession on the road for the first half turned the way of the Colorado Rapids, Saturday night, after two goals were scored in a four minute span early in the second half - the game ending 4-1 for the home side at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
The Impact was forced to play from behind early on when the referee pointed to the spot following a foul in the box by Sanna Nyassi in the 5th minute. Dillon Powers converted the penalty.
Despite the tough call, the bleu-blanc-noir dominated first half possession with 64%, but the Rapids had the better scoring chances, including two breakaways by striker Deshorn Brown.
“Other than the penalty, I felt we started well. We possessed the ball and came out strong," said Impact head coach Frank Klopas. "But when the referee is a protagonist in the game, it’s never good. My players gave everything tonight, despite the score and now we have to regroup for the Canadian Championship and try to win a cup."
Momentum shifted in the second half when Colorado managed to score on two fabulous strikes. The first came off the foot of midfielder Kamani Hill in the 54th minute when he cut inside and bended a perfect ball past Perkins far side from 25 yards out, while the second came four minutes later when a rebound fell to defender Shane O’Neill outside the box, hammering his shot top corner.
Powers found his second of the game in the 84th minute when he blasted a lateral pass from Marlon Hairston past Troy Perkins.
Second half substitute Andres Romero scored a left-footed curler in the 88th minute to get one back for the Impact.
"Unfortunately we can't seem to catch a break," said Impact captain Patrice Bernier. "Over the last two weeks, we've played better than we have in a while and we have shown more solidarity. The score today doesn't reflect the game. They scored on their chances, two from great shots outside the box and we didn't make the right plays at certain moments to keep us in the game."
The bleu-blanc-noir thought it had scored earlier when Issey Nakajima-Farran, who came in for an injured Sanna Nyassi in the 24th minute, redirected a pass by Justin Mapp into the goal in the 68th minute, but the linesman raised his flag for offside.
A bright spot for the Impact was the play of Justin Mapp once again, who created a number of scoring chances for his side throughout his 71 minutes on the pitch, including a breakaway in the 8th minute, a one-on-one through ball in the 16th and a post in the 50th minute.
"We're disappointed with the result," said Mapp. "A few lapses defensively in the second half on our end and the score is 4-1. It was kind of a strange game."
Upcoming games
The Impact takes the pitch at BMO Field on Wednesday, May 28 at 7:30pm, against Toronto FC in the first leg of the Amway Canadian Championship final. Then, the bleu-blanc-noir returns to Stade Saputo to host the New England Revolution on Saturday, May 31, at 7pm.
Lineup
MTL – GK-Troy Perkins; D-Jeb Brovsky, Heath Pearce, Wandrille Lefèvre, Hassoun Camara; M-Patrice Bernier, Hernan Bernardello, Sanna Nyassi (Issey Nakajima-Farran 24’), Felipe (Marco Di Vaio 56’), Justin Mapp (Andrés Romero 71’); F-Jack McInerney
Unused sub: GK-Evan Bush; D-Karl W. Ouimette; M-Calum Mallace; F-Santiago Gonzalez
COL – GK-Clint Irwin; D-Drew Moor, Chris Klute, Marvell Wynne, Shane O’Neill; M-Dillon Serna (Marlon Hairston 73’), José Mari, Kamani Hill, Dillon Powers; F-Edson Buddle (Danny Mwanga 86’), Deshorn Brown (Nick Labrocca 75’)
Unused subs: GK- John Berner; D-Thomas Piermayr, M-Jared Watts; F-Charles Eloundou
Goals
COL – Powers (PK) 5’
COL – Hill (Buddle) 54’
COL – O’Neill 58’
COL – Powers (Hairston) 84’
MTL – Romero (Perkins) 88’
Cautions
MTL – Lefèvre 40’
COL – Moor 72’
COL – O’Neill 92’
