Read the comments from Impact head coach Marco Schällibaum and midfielder Patrice Bernier following the Impact's 4-2 win against the New England Revolution in Foxborough.
Marco Schällibaum
"I think my team was ready from the first second. Also after the penalty and the red card it was a little bit helpful for us. I felt it before the game and also when we start of the game. We were ready. They played very well. We turned the ball very, very quickly and very good. It was very important also when you see the standings to have a little break. The race is long far away, for the players. For the moral and psychological side, it was very important to have these three points."
Every game is very difficult. I think on the road, also. We show this face that we can win on the road. We won in Seattle, we won in Portland and in Kansas City. Because it is a good team, New England, with 10 players, they make nice things, they put pressure. Again it was very important to get these three points.
Marco (Di Vaio) is very important in the dressing room, but also on the field. He is an opportunist. He is a goal-maker, he is a machine, like a terminator. I told him before the game he was a terminator and we need him again. He is crazy, but I am very proud to have this guy. He is very fit for his age. I am very happy to have him.
Midfielder Patrice Bernier
Yeah, we started off well. We tried to play. We know it’s a young team. They try to move the ball, but we got a penalty. I think we got complacent a bit after that goal. They equalized and then we got a second penalty, and then I think that’s when we started stepping on the gas and we managed to get a 3-1 and 4-1 lead. I must say: give them credit, they kept hustling even though with 10 men they tried to push. They never stopped. Good for them, but for us it was a great result to have three points and to distance ourselves from those fourth and fifth places. Now it’s the top three teams that are really going away.
On his approach to taking penalty kicks …
Same as last year, I had to take three against them. For me now, I’m in good confidence because it’s going in the back of the goal. It’s just (being) level-headed, and not thinking too much and just putting it in the back of the net knowing that it gives your team the lead also.
The thing is, you sometimes think you need to hurry because you are one man up and you can go to goal easier, but you need to move the ball and make them run to create that space and that advantage. On those two goals from Marco (Di Vaio), that’s what happened. We moved the ball and then a great ball by Hassoun (Camara) that got on top and isolated Marco on one-on-one. On one-on-one, we know he’s one of the most lethal strikers in this league.
Marco is one of those players that play like a striker. He doesn’t have to be in the build-up and touch the ball 50 times. He is used to it. He is paid pretty much to score goals and make the difference. He has been doing it tremendously for us this year. He has scored some key goals and been a key element, especially up front with his finishing sometimes. Guys like that, it’s one or two chances and they put it in the back. That’s what you need when you want to go further in this league and reach the playoffs.
