MONTREAL – A fresh start. As cliché as the phrase is, it’s precisely what the Impact look for against the Vancouver Whitecaps this Wednesday at BC Place.
With two wins in 13 games, they sit at the bottom of the Supporters Shield standings, eight points off a playoff spot. Their last outing, a 4-2 home loss to D.C. United that spoiled the start of their World Cup break, featured lapses of concentration that Montreal want – and need – to cut down on.
They’ve also won a second straight Amway Canadian Championship, but thinking about last year’s circumstances – they’d only lost three league games at this point in 2013 – makes Montreal want to wipe the slate clean even more.
“Maybe it’s difficult to think about this, but we can start from the beginning again and we’ll see what’s going to happen,” defender Matteo Ferrari told reporters on Monday. “The standings aren't nice, but it’s also not impossible to be there with the other teams fighting for the playoffs. We still believe in that.”
Montreal has tried to shake things up since the beginning of June. Gone are Jeb Brovsky, Hernan Bernardello – though the latter’s departure was admittedly unplanned. Futty Danso, Mechack Jérôme and Gorka Larrea have arrived.
The new guys will take time to jell with the team, Montreal admit. But given how earlier acquisitions Jack McInerney and Issey Nakajima-Farran settled, they’re optimistic.
“We’re turning the page on the first 13 games somewhat,” team captain Patrice Bernier told reporters in French. “We’re learning the lessons. We have a new group, and we have to make them feel as comfortable as possible in the hope that they’ll be a breath of fresh air, something new, renewed energy that, over the next 21 games, makes us bond together and set the record straight.”
