MONTREAL – The Montreal Impact, with an inspired Nacho Piatti on offence and a spectacular Evan Bush penalty stop at the other end, got closer to qualifying for the MLS Cup Playoffs with a 3-1 win against the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday night at Stade Saputo.
Piatti, with his 15th tally of the season and his fifth game-winner, Dominic Oduro and Johan Venegas all scored for the Bleu-blanc-noir, which has opened a five-point gap with the playoff red line. Quakes captain Chris Wondolowski replied for the visitors.
“When you’re struggling a little to score goals, it’s important that everyone contributes, and my players did well in this respect,” said Impact head coach Mauro Biello. “This was the first step to regain our confidence. The Earthquakes took some more risks in the second half and were able to find that goal, but we held strong and scored a third. We will take the three points and move forward.”
Bush sends fans into raptures late on
Rewarded for its disciplined and purposeful start to the game, the Impact opened the scoring 22 minutes in. After a good Piatti ball on the edge of the area, Patrice Bernier extended his leg to feed Mancosu, whose shot deflected on Shaun Francis. Goalkeeper David Bingham slid well to his left to stop it, but the rebound fell to Oduro, who slammed in his fifth goal of the season despite Marvell Wynne’s attempts to block it.
The Bleu-blanc-noir could have doubled its lead two minutes later, when Harry Shipp played a fine ball on the weak side to Ambroise Oyongo, alone down the left. Bingham, however, managed a save.
But the Impact got its second in the 32nd minute. An ill-advised Wynne pass ended up at Piatti’s feet, and the Argentine promptly played the ball through for Mancosu. The Argentinean moved into the penalty area to receive Mancosu’s cutback, and two touches later, he had given Montreal a 2-0 lead.
“With hard work and chance creation, we were efficient,” said team captain Patrice Bernier. “We set the tone in the first half. Then, we held strong defensively. We have to carry on like that, and in this squad, everyone can contribute.”
The Earthquakes reduced that lead to one goal in the 62nd minute. Darwin Cerén took a long drive from the right side which Bush stopped but couldn’t catch. Wondolowski pounced, blasting a low shot past Bush with his left foot for his 11th goal of the season.
Bush made a fine stop in the 79th minute, when he grabbed a long Fatai Alashe shot that he could only see coming at the last second. But the Montreal keeper made his best save on Wondolowski, on an 87th-minute penalty, after a contact involving Shea Salinas in the area. Bush dived to his right to deny Wondolowski and earn a loud ovation from the Stade Saputo crowd. Bush made five saves in this win, his 10th of the season, and this was his first penalty stop since October 7, 2015, in New York on Sacha Kljestan.
“We couldn’t give away points again tonight,” said Evan Bush. “It was a big save for us in the moment, and all that matters at the end of the day is that we get the three points. I’m happy to contribute in that way. We needed to repay the supporters with a win.”
The Impact, which tried to put the game to bed on the counter in the second half, managed to do so in stoppage time. With his back to goal, Didier Drogba hooked a smart pass with his left foot to Nacho Piatti, metres outside the area. Piatti took a few steps and played the ball left to Venegas, who struck his shot low to put an end to the contest.
Next games
The Impact will play its last home game of the regular season at Stade Saputo on Sunday, October 16, at 3pm against rivals Toronto FC. This game was initially scheduled for 5pm, but all tickets with the original time for this game will be valid at all Stade Saputo entrances on October 16, starting at 1:30pm. Excellent individual tickets are still available for this game on impactmontreal.com.
In the meantime, the Bleu-blanc-noir will travel to Florida for its penultimate road game of the regular season, on Sunday, October 2, at 1pm against Orlando City SC. The Impact will finish its regular season on Sunday, October 23, at 4pm in Massachusetts against the New England Revolution.
LINEUPS
MTL – GK-Evan Bush; D-Hassoun Camara, Víctor Cabrera, Laurent Ciman, Ambroise Oyongo; M-Marco Donadel, Patrice Bernier (Johan Venegas 82’), Harry Shipp (Calum Mallace 63’), Dominic Oduro, Ignacio Piatti; F-Matteo Mancosu (Didier Drogba 70’)
Subs not used – GK-Eric Kronberg; D-Wandrille Lefèvre; M-Lucas Ontivero; F-Michael Salazar
SJ – GK-David Bingham; D-Shaun Francis, Marvell Wynne (Cordell Cato 69’), Víctor Bernárdez, Andrés Imperiale (Shea Salinas 78’); M-Tommy Thompson, Aníbal Godoy (Fatai Alashe 69’), Darwin Cerén, Alberto Quintero; F-Henok Goitom, Chris Wondolowski
Subs not used – GK-Andrew Tarbell; D-Kofi Sarkodie; F-Chad Barrett
GOALS
MTL – Oduro 22’
MTL – Piatti (Mancosu) 32’
SJ – Wondolowski 62’
MTL – Venegas (Piatti, Drogba) 90’+2’
CAUTIONS
SJ – Francis 12’
MTL – Camara 50’
MTL – Cabrera 56’
MTL – Piatti 86’
MTL – Venegas 86’
MTL – Drogba 90’+1’
