Piatti dominates with a goal and three assists, Jackson-Hamel scores a brace
MONTREAL – The Montreal Impact brought its four-game losing streak to an end with a 4-2 victory over the New England Revolution, Saturday afternoon at Stade Saputo. Forward Anthony Jackson-Hamel scored a brace, Raheem Edwards added another for his second goal of the season, and Nacho was impeccable, with one goal and three assists.
“What we accomplished was great, but there’s not much time to enjoy it,” said Impact head coach Rémi Garde. “Especially this week, since we’re playing in Chicago on Wednesday, and then Saturday we’ll be back home. We still need to progress, but this was a good beginning of an answer.”
The beginning of the first half was complicated for both teams, as both attempted to surprise the opposing team’s defensive line with balls in behind, although success was sparse for both teams using this tactic.
Montreal was voluntary going forward during this game. In the sixth minute, Piatti found Jackson-Hamel in full speed. The striker got to the ball first and was pushed over in the box by Claude Dielna, but referee Baldomero Toledo wasn’t convinced.
Four minutes later, the Impact came close to taking the lead. Piatti sent Lovitz on the run down the left flank; the American full-back, who was playing a 75th game in MLS, crossed to the near post for Raheem Edwards, but he wasn’t able to connect well with the ball on the half-volley.
In first-half stoppage time, the Impact found the key. Saphir Taïder, pressing Andrew Farrell, recovered the ball, which ended up at Piatti’s feet. The Argentine immediately unleashed Jackson-Hamel behind the defense. The striker from Limoilou ran 40 metres on a breakaway and beat Matt Turner between the legs to give Montreal the advantage.
Offensive festival after the break
Jackson-Hamel’s goal benefitted the hosts at the beginning of the second half, and not only on the scoreboard. Right from the restart, the Bleu-blanc-noir was on the front foot. The Impact’s number 11 profited twice: in the 49th, again found by Piatti, he hit the post; then, three minutes later, off a Piatti pass, he was able to tuck it away at the opposite end of the net to double the Impact’s lead.
“My teammates know what my strengths are, and those are the runs I make and the options I give to whoever has the ball,” said Anthony Jackson-Hamel. “I was able to create space and we were able to be efficient behind the defense by positioning ourselves deeper on the field.”
In the 64th minute, the Impact added to its lead. Samuel Piette intercepted a ball in midfield and passed it to Piatti. The Designated Player ran and passed it through for Edwards, who made it 3-0 with a single touch of the ball. With six assists since the beginning of the season, Piatti is ranked first in MLS in this category and passed Patrice Bernier for most assists in Impact history in the North American top division.
“It was important for the team to bounce back today,” said midfielder Raheem Edwards. “We were going through a difficult period and we needed points. To be able to do it at home feels great.”
Four minutes later, Piette played a long ball behind the defense for Piatti. What didn’t work in the first half seemed to be working this time: the Argentine took a touch of the ball before hitting a low shot across goal to make it 4-0 Montreal.
“This was a very important victory for the group, because we’re coming out of a series of games where we didn’t play very well,” said Nacho Piatti, who was playing his 100th regular season game with the Bleu-blanc- noir. “We worked hard all week to break out of it and it’s good for our confident to have gotten the result today. We need to keep it up for our game on Wednesday.”
The Revs answered twice thanks to Wilfried Zahibo, off a corner and off an indirect free-kick, but the Impact was able to hold on and add three points to the bank.
Upcoming games
The Impact continues its busy week with a trip to Chicago to face the Fire at Toyota Park on Wednesday, May 9 at 8:30pm (TVA Sports, 98,5fm, TSN Radio 690), before coming back to Stade Saputo to face the Philadelphia Union on Saturday, May 12 at 3pm (TICKETS – TVA Sports, CTV, 98,5fm, TSN Radio 690).
LINE-UPS
MTL – G-Evan Bush; D-Chris Duvall, Víctor Cabrera, Jukka Raitala, Daniel Lovitz; M-Samuel Piette, Alejandro Silva, Saphir Taider; A-Ignacio Piatti (Michael Petrasso 75’), Anthony Jackson-Hamel (Jeisson Vargas 66’), Raheem Edwards (Matteo Mancosu 85’)
Unused substitutes – Clément Diop, Louis Béland-Goyette, Dominic Oduro, Ken Krolicki
NE – G-Matt Turner; D-Andrew Farrell (Brandon Bye 71’), Jalil Anibaba, Claude Dielna, Gabriel Somi (Kelyn Rowe 70’); M-Wilfried Zahibo, Juan Agudelo (Krisztián Németh 34’), Luis Caicedo, Diego Fagundez, Cristian Penilla; A-Teal Bunbury
Unused substitutes – Brad Knighton, Chris Tierney, Antonio Milnar Delamea, Scott Caldwell
GOALS
MTL – Jackson-Hamel (Piatti) 45’+2’
MTL – Jackson-Hamel (Piatti, Silva) 52’
MTL – Edwards (Piatti) 65’
MTL – Piatti (Piette) 68’
NE – Zahibo (Fagundez) 78’
NE – Zahibo 86
CAUTIONS
MTL – Duvall 38’
NE – Caicedo 59’
NE – Fagundez 90’+1’
