Team in good shape with 10 games remaining
Fans were treated to quite the spectacle, Saturday night at Stade Saputo. With Wayne Rooney and D.C. United in town looking to climb their way up the Eastern Conference standings, and with the Impact desperate to maintain its playoff position, a 1-1 draw may as well have been a fine scenario for both teams, although there was no shortage of chances; six posts were hit in all, and Evan Bush was named to the MLS Team of the week for his work in front of goal.
The Impact drew first blood in the fifth minute when Matteo Mancosu buried a chance past David Ousted. The Italian striker has been in better scoring form as of late, finding the back of the net twice in his last three MLS games.
“Two goals in three games is good for a striker, but what’s important is the victory,” said Mancosu. “I prefer not scoring and having my team win. If my goal contributes to us making the playoffs, then I’m happy to have scored.”
But D.C. picked up the pace after the Impact almost went up by two goals before the game’s 10-minute mark, when Alejandro Silva’s attempt rattled the post. From then on, it became a very back and forth game, with both teams earning quality scoring chances.
“D.C. was obviously a good team,” said midfielder Ken Krolicki. “They don’t deserve to be at the bottom of the table. On our end, I don’t think we approached the game any differently than we approach any game. Mentally, we were ready, but after scoring the first goal we backed up and let them play a little too much, and that was a problem.”
Still strong at home
The Impact has been dominant at home as of late, winning four of its last six through all competitions before the game against D.C. on Saturday, and conceding just four goals in the process. Despite coming away with the point, the team’s performance didn’t live up to the standard it’s set at Stade Saputo in recent weeks for Impact head coach Rémi Garde.
“I think we weren’t altruistic enough,” said Garde. “We played a little bit too selfish at times and we didn’t respect the game. When you don’t respect the game, you get punished, and that was the story of this one. We put in a huge effort, but we didn’t play smart enough.”
The Bleu-blanc-noir is entering the final stretch of the season now with just 10 games remaining, split evenly between home and away games. Although the Impact has been good at home in 2018, it’ll need points on the road if it wants to continue playing soccer come November.
“Mentally, we’ll need to be strong and give everything we have,” said midfielder Saphir Taïder. “We don’t want to finish this season with regrets. We have the means to do great things. It won’t be easy but if we want to do it, we need everyone to be at 100% physically and mentally.”
