The Bleu-blanc-noir still perfect after three preseason games
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – The Montreal Impact will play its fourth preseason game this Wednesday at 7pm, at Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex, in Clearwater, against the Philadelphia Union. The game will be broadcast live on impactmontreal.com.
An emerging trend
If the three preseason games from this year’s training camp have shown us anything, it is that the Impact will be able to count on fast, young players this year. The Bleu-blanc-noir has also demonstrated pragmatism and realism by limiting its opponents’ scoring chances, while being efficient in front of the opposing goal until now.
“It’s going well so far,” said midfielder Samuel Piette. “Our midfield is pretty well-balanced. On the defensive end, we’re running a lot more so it’s difficult to break our defensive lines. The players are working hard so it makes my job as a sentry in front of the defense a lot easier. It’s paid off so far.”
Some of the players recruited during the winter have already left a good impression with Montreal’s supporters. Zakaria Diallo has been the rock of the Impact’s remodeled backline and has already developed a connection with his partner in central defense, Víctor Cabrera; Michael Petrasso has showed strong technical and physical attributes, not to mention an interesting character, being directly responsible for both of Montreal’s goals on Saturday; Designated Player Saphir Taïder scored his first Impact goal against the Tampa Bay Rowdies, adding the assist on the game’s winning goal as well.
“We want to continue preparing,” said forward Anthony Jackson-Hamel. “We have a nice chemistry in the group and there are a lot of young players. We are all on the same page, even though there are still areas to work on. I’m not worried, it will come with the next few games.”
Philadelphia Union just beginning preparation
Wednesday night’s opponent, the Philadelphia Union, will only be at its second preseason game, after a 2-1 loss to D.C. United in the opening game of the Rowdies Suncoast Invitational. The DOOP missed the MLS Cup playoffs last year and has notably added David Accam to its roster from the Chicago Fire in exchange for over $1M in allocation money. The rest of the team has not changed much, with the midfield pairing of Alejandro Bedoya and Haris Medunjanin still operating behind CJ Sapong, author of 16 goals in 2017.
Upcoming games
The Impact will conclude its training camp against New York City FC on Saturday, February 24 at 5pm at Al Lang Stadium, also as part of the Rowdies Suncoast Invitational.
The team will kick off its season with two games on the road, in Vancouver on March 4 and Columbus on March 10, before playing its home opener at Olympic Stadium on Saturday, March 17, at 3pm, against its biggest rival, Toronto FC.
