VANCOUVER, B.C. – The Montreal Impact kicked off its 2016 MLS season in brilliant fashion this Sunday, defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps FC by a 3-2 scoreline at BC Place and notching its first-ever win in Vancouver. Ignacio Piatti scored twice – already making it three multi-goal games since joining the Impact – and Dominic Oduro tallied the other Montreal goal.
“We put together an excellent performance,” said head coach Mauro Biello. “All the players fought today in order to win against a very good team. It’s a long season, and we still have to grow as a team, but I saw a lot of positive in the way we played tonight.”
Piatti opened the Impact’s account for 2016 in the 19th minute. After playing a give-and-go with Harry Shipp on the edge of the Whitecaps’ penalty area, Piatti skilfully beat three opponents before slamming the ball home to goalkeeper David Ousted’s left.
Oduro scored the Impact’s second in the 42nd. Oduro raced onto a Piatti pass behind the defence and took advantage of the confusion between Kendall Waston and David Ousted to simply tap the ball into an empty net. The Ghanaian thus celebrated his 175th MLS start with his 57th goal.
But Oduro returned the favour to Piatti toward the end of the game. Alone on the right flank, Oduro placed a diagonal pass into the path of Piatti, who took a couple of touches before finishing low into the side netting with his left foot, from a tight angle. Piatti has now scored 15 career MLS goals, including three against the Whitecaps.
“It’s the first time in my career that I start off the season with a win, so I’m happy,” said the newly acquired Harry Shipp. “It’s a really good feeling. It validates the six weeks of preseason so far. It’s great to come in here, on the road, against a really good team and come out with three points.”
Vancouver twice cut a two-goal lead in half. First, defender Jordan Harvey got one back for the Whitecaps in the 45th minute when he darted at the far post to redirect Pedro Morales’s dead-ball service into Evan Bush’s net. Kendall Waston then scored a consolation goal in second-half stoppage time, heading a Christian Bolaños corner kick past Bush.
“It’s our first road win in Canada, so that’s huge for the club,” said Evan Bush. “With the way we started last year, to get three points here, right off the bat, on the road, it’s huge for us.”
Bush, on his 30th birthday, made eight saves in a game for the fourth time in his career, and several were crucial. In the 30th minute, the Montreal ‘keeper left the vicinity of his net to stop an Octavio Rivero breakaway with the tip of his foot and maintain the Impact’s one-goal lead. Bush then saved two dangerous headers in the second half, frustrating Rivero once more in the 68th and Waston in the 75th.
Second half sub, Anthony Jackson-Hamel nearly restored Montreal’s two-goal lead at the hour mark, when Piatti slipped the ball through two Whitecaps defenders. But Jackson-Hamel’s shot crashed onto the far post and bounced out.
The Montreal Impact next plays its 2016 home opener on Saturday, March 12, at 4pm ET (TVA Sports, 98,5 FM, TSN Radio 690) at the Olympic Stadium against reigning regular season champions New York Red Bulls. Excellent tickets for that game are still available on impactmontreal.com.
LINEUPS
MTL – GK-Evan Bush; D-Ambroise Oyongo, Victor Cabrera, Laurent Ciman, Donny Toia; M-Marco Donadel (Calum Mallace 56’), Eric Alexander, Lucas Ontivero (Anthony Jackson-Hamel 53’), Ignacio Piatti, Harry Shipp; F-Dominic Oduro (Hassoun Camara 90+1’)
Subs not used – GK-Eric Kronberg; D-Maxim Tissot, Wandrille Lefèvre; M-Kyle Bekker
VAN – GK-David Ousted; D-Fraser Aird, Kendall Waston, Tim Parker, Jordan Harvey; M-Kianz Froese (Blas Pérez 66’), Matias Laba, Christian Bolaños, Pedro Morales, Cristian Techera ; F-Octavio Rivero (Masato Kudo 81’)
Subs not used – GK-Paolo Tornaghi; D-Pa Modou Kah, Sam Adekugbe; M-Deybi Flores
GOALS
MTL – Piatti (Shipp) 19’
MTL – Oduro (Piatti) 42’
VAN – Harvey (Morales) 45’
MTL – Piatti (Oduro) 88’
VAN – Waston (Bolaños) 90+3’
CAUTIONS
MTL – Oyongo 45’
VAN – Bolaños 62’
VAN – Aird 77’
