MONTREAL – A soccer game on the weekend, argues Impact head coach Frank Klopas, is motivation enough for Jack McInerney.
But as the Philadelphia Union, who traded him to Montreal for Andrew Wenger, visit Stade Saputo this Saturday for the Impact’s first game at their true home this season, McInerney will have that extra bit of motivation. Him and Wenger both opened their accounts on their debut with their new team, and McInerney is determined to be the one who scores his second in this weekend’s “emotional” encounter.
“For sure, obviously,” McInerney told reporters earlier this week when asked about his desire to be on the starting lineup against Philadelphia. “And score some goals, too.”
McInerney didn’t specify here how many he wanted to score as he did with the Philadelphia press, but any contribution against the Union would help him prove a point. The 21-year-old is out to improve his consistency this season. Tallying two goals in three games with Montreal would kick things off well.
“Last year was an up-and-down season for me, so I don’t know if that affected why I was traded or why I came here, but I feel, especially this weekend being against the old team I used to play for, that it’s a good starting point for me to get on the field and hopefully score – and score consistently,” McInerney said.
By McInerney’s side may be Marco Di Vaio, who provided the assist for his younger colleague’s first goal against Chicago on April 12. Di Vaio, who came off early last weekend in Kansas City with a hamstring knock, is expected to be available for selection on Saturday.
“We haven’t had too much time to practice together, but at the end of the day, we’re going on the field and you’re just playing the game,” McInerney said of his nascent partnership with Di Vaio. “You’re playing soccer. We just go out there, look at some tape, fix a couple of things from our last outing and go out there and do what the team, and what Marco and I do best, which is score.”
Olivier Tremblay covers the Impact on MLSsoccer.com
