Bleu-blanc-noir has wins in five of last six games
The Montreal Impact kept its home streak alive on Saturday night, winning its fifth straight at Stade Saputo by shutting out the San Jose Earthquakes 2-0. Saphir Taïder and Nacho Piatti provided the goals for the Bleu-blanc-noir.
“We gave the right answer tonight,” said head coach Rémi Garde. “What makes me happy is that we progressed all together. The season isn’t over. We’re where we should’ve been in the beginning of it. It’s up to us to stay focused and ambitious, to do whatever we have to do to get the points we’re missing.”
Off to a good start
It was the Montreal Impact who got on the board early in this one, in the seventh minute. Receiving the ball on the right side, Matteo Mancosu made a pass between two defenders towards Nacho Piatti inside the box. The Argentine managed to poke it before being swarmed by two defenders towards Saphir Taïder, who controlled it and put it past goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell with a left-footed shot for his fourth of the season.
Piatti, who tied his personal record for assists with his eighth of the season on Taïder’s goal, got a chance of his own in the 18th minute, when he ran into the box, cut inside and unleashed a shot with his right foot, but it was blocked by defender Florian Jungwirth.
The visitors got their best chance right before the break. A quick passing play in Montreal’s 18-yard box saw Jahmir Hyka get in behind the defense, but his attempt was pushed away by Evan Bush.
The American, who has now gone six consecutive games without allowing a goal in the first half, was making his 150th start with the Bleu-blanc-noir on Saturday night.
“Bush made two or three big saves that kept us in the game,” said midfielder Samuel Piette. “We were letting them into our box too much. It was a matter of waking up and not letting ourselves go after scoring that first goal, because we knew that taking a goal against this team would have created a problem.”
More pressure after the break
The Impact continued bringing pressure to the Earthquakes after the break.
In the 60th minute, Piatti had another look on net, this time from outside the box, but his powerful shot went just over the bar. A few seconds later, a cross pushed away by Tarbell was picked up again by the Argentine, but his ensuing shot trickled just wide of the left post.
The Bleu-blanc-noir finally doubled its lead in the 74th minute, when Alejandro Silva passed the ball to Nacho Piatti, at the top of the box. The Impact’s number 10 looked up before sending a nice finesse shot into the right corner, past Tarbell’s outstretched fingertips.
The goal was Piatti’s 10th of the season, marking the third straight season the Argentine has reached double digits in goals, while Silva notched his fourth assist in his last five games. Daniel Lovitz, on his end, was starting in his 50th MLS game, and Chris Duvall was playing in his 100th.
“It’s nice to win at home. We’re doing well in the standings,” said Nacho Piatti. “We like having Chicago and Philadelphia behind us. I don’t know how they did tonight, but we had to win to keep climbing. There are difficult games coming up, and we need to take points away from home as well.”
Upcoming games
The Impact begins its road to the Concacaf Champions League on Wednesday, July 18 at 7:30pm with the first leg of the Canadian Championship semi-final against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Stade Saputo (TICKETS – canadasoccer.com, Yahoo Sports Canada, 98.5fm). Montreal will then head to the West Coast, in the heart of Cascadia, to face the Portland Timbers on Saturday, July 21 at 11pm EST (TVA Sports), before returning to Canada for the second leg of the Canadian Championship semi-final against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, on Wednesday, July 25 at 10pm EST at BC Place (canadasoccer.com, Yahoo Sports Canada).
LINE-UPS
MTL – GK-Evan Bush; D-Chris Duvall (Michael Petrasso 63’), Rudy Camacho, Jukka Raitala, Daniel Lovitz; M-Samuel Piette, Ken Krolicki, Saphir Taider; F-Ignacio Piatti, Matteo Mancosu (Jeisson Vargas 72’), Alejandro Silva
Subs not used – Clément Diop, Victor Cabrera, Raheem Edwards, Shamit Shome, Anthony Jackson-Hamel
SJ – GK-Andrew Tarbell; D-Florian Jungwirth, Harold Cummings, Nick Lima, Shea Salinas; M-Aníbal Godoy (Fatai Alashe 41’, Jimmy Ockford 46’), Jackson Yueill, Jahmir Hyka (Tommy Thompson 77’), Valeri Qazaishvili; F-Chris Wondolowski, Danny Hoesen
Subs not used – Matt Bersano, Joel Qwiberg, Yeferson Quintana, Quincy Amarikwa
GOALS
MTL – Taïder (Piatti, Mancosu) 8’
MTL – Piatti (Silva) 74’
CAUTIONS
SJ – Godoy 26’
MTL – Krolicki 37’
SJ – Lima 59’
MTL – Silva 85’
SJ – Wondolowski 90’
