Montreal on a two-game winning streak
DENVER, Colorado – The Impact will look to put an end to a four-game losing streak on the road in MLS, when it visits the Colorado Rapids, this Saturday at 9pm EDT at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park (TVA Sports, 98.5, TSN 690).
“The changing of the coach turned out quite positive for this Colorado team,” said Impact head coach Rémi Garde. “I’ve also learned that in MLS, you can’t look at the standings too much, because it doesn’t really mean much. What you need to look at is the form of every team. Colorado, from what I’ve seen, is a solid team, with an important level of athletic engagement. They have strong players. This isn’t the same team that started this season. Their place in the standings today reflects their start to the season, but not their last games.”
Offense running, defense confident
With two clean sheets wins in its last two games across all competitions, Montreal also saw its talisman Nacho Piatti return to action, scoring a goal and adding an assist in two games since returning last Wednesday. Finnish recruit Lassi Lappalainen, on his end, scored a brace in his first game with the Impact, a 4-0 victory over the Philadelphia Union. Rémi Garde’s men are therefore in good position at the approach of this important game, still sitting sixth in the Eastern Conference. The standings are very tight at the moment: only seven points separate first and eighth place, synonymous to missing the MLS Cup playoffs.
“We need to continue playing like this and avoid dropping points,” said midfielder Nacho Piatti. “There are only 10 games left in the regular season and we want to qualify for the playoffs. It’s important to go to Colorado and come back with points, because New England and Toronto FC are right behind us.”
Last year in Montreal, in the only game between the two clubs, the Impact took it 2-1 thanks to two goals scored by Saphir Taïder in less than two minutes.
Defender Bacary Sagna served his one-game suspension last Saturday and will be once again available for this one. Defenders Victor Cabrera and Daniel Kinumbe remain unavailable, and the same applies to midfielder Samuel Piette, who did return to training this week, however.
Ups and downs in the Rockies
Colorado, who named Conor Casey as interim head coach on May 1, has gone through ups and downs since his arrival. The Rapids went unbeaten for seven MLS games, from May 19 to June 28, beating both Los Angeles teams during this stretch, but they’ve only added a single point to the standings in July. Goalkeeper Tim Howard missed the last game with an injury, while Kei Kamara was subbed off at half-time, injured. Both remain questionable ahead of Saturday’s game.
“The most important thing we can do is stay focused, whether it’s at home or away,” said forward Maxi Urruti. “This is the final stretch. We played really well in our last game, and we need to continue. It’s important for the team to stay together and keep defending well.”
Upcoming games
The Impact will host the first leg of the Canadian Championship semifinals on Wednesday, August 7, at 7:30pm at Stade Saputo (TICKETS – 98.5, TSN 690), before heading back on the road in MLS to take on the Chicago Fire at Seatgeek Stadium on Saturday, August 10, at 9pm EDT (TVA Sports, 98.5, TSN 690).
