FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts – Two injury substitutions and a red card forced the Montreal Impact into a gritty performance, grinding out a 0-0 draw with the New England Revolution, Saturday afternoon at Gillette Stadium, despite playing the final 30 minutes down a man.
“We deserved a result today," said head coach Frank Klopas. "The team showed incredible character. We had good control in the first half and then when we lost a man in the second, we were committed to winning 50/50 balls. I'm proud of the team today."
“They are obviously a good team and it’s a difficult place to play, so we are happy with the result under the circumstances today,” explained Calum Mallace. “I think we are definitely in a better place this season than we were last year and we will just keep getting better.”
Scoring chances went back and for both sides in the first 10 minutes, with neither side finding that final pass into a dangerous spot.
Rookie Cameron Porter, who has excelled in his first few appearances as a pro with the Impact and who was making his first ever MLS start, suffered a knee injury in the 20th minute and was stretchered off.
“Let’s keep our fingers crossed,” added Klopas. “I don’t want to speculate. Hopefully we can get some good news when we get back to Montreal and he’s seen by the doctors.”
Following the injury, the Revs mounted some pressure and the game got a little chippy, but IMFC weathered the storm and settled things back down towards the end of the first frame with the best opportunity of the half coming in the 44th minute. On the play, left back Donny Toia curled one into the box that Jack McInerney, Porter’s replacement, chipped over the backline with his head, finding Dominic Oduro. The Ghanaian took one touch and fired a low shot that bounced just inches wide of the far post.
The second half played out much in the same way as in the first, with a lot of the game being played in midfield. And like in the first, the Impact was forced to make a change due to injury in the 56th minute, a few minutes after Oduro went down following a hard contact. The 2014 team MVP Andrés Romero replaced him to make his season debut.
The bleu-blanc-noir came close in the 60th minute when Maxim Tissot hammered one from 35 yards out following a good counter attack started by Nigel Reo-Coker, but his low blast was saved by Revs keeper Bobby Shuttleworth.
One minute later, Hassoun Camara was shown a second yellow for holding Juan Agudelo and subsequently was ejected from the game.
"We played really well, even when we were down to 10-men," said Maxim Tissot. "Last year, we had trouble in these games, but today, we fought all game long. We played a very disciplined game in regards to the game plan."
Despite being a man down, IMFC came close again in the 67th minute when Jack McInerney played a low lateral ball through the box that just missed the oncoming Romero.
The Revs then naturally pressed offensively with the extra man. Evan Bush made a huge save off Lee Nguyen from distance in the 70th minute and eventually registered his fourth shutout of his MLS career.
Head coach Frank Klopas had to make several changes to his lineup due to the absences of defender Bakary Soumare, as well as midfielders Marco Donadel, Dilly Duka and Ignacio Piatti. Hassoun Camara, Calum Mallace, Eric Alexander and Maxim Tissot were all starters today, while Victor Cabrera was also making his first ever MLS start.
The Impact will head back to Montreal Sunday to prepare for its home opener next Saturday against Orlando City SC and international star Kaka. Excellent tickets are still available via ticketmaster.ca. On the same day, the FC Montreal plays its first match in USL against Toronto FC II, at 12:30pm. Earlier in the day, the Impact soccer schools invite soccer players to live a unique experience at the stadium.
LINEUPS
MTL – GK-Evan Bush; D-Hassoun Camara, Victor Cabrera, Laurent Ciman, Donny Toia; M-Nigel Reo-Coker, Calum Mallace, Dominic Oduro (Andrés Romero 56’), Eric Alexander (Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé 84’), Maxim Tissot; F-Cameron Porter (Jack McInerney 20’)
Subs not used: GK-Eric Kronberg; D-Wandrille Lefèvre; M-Patrice Bernier; F-Romario Williams
NE – GK-Bobby Shuttleworth; D-Jeremy Hall, Andrew Farrell, Darrius Barnes, Chris Tierney; M-Scott Caldwell, Daigo Kobayashi, Kelyn Rowe (Charlie Davies 63’), Lee Nguyen, Diego Fagundez; A-Juan Agudelo (Steve Neumann 84’)
Subs not used: GK-Brad Knighton; D-London Woodberry; M-Andy Dorman, Tyler Rudy; F-Sean Okoli
CAUTIONS
MTL – Cabrera 8’
MTL – Camara 29’
MTL – Mallace 39’
NE – Hall 90+1’
MTL – McInerney 90+3’
EJECTION
MTL – Camara (second caution) 61’
