WASHINGTON, D.C. – A late goal by D.C. United forward Eddie Johnson spoiled what was a strong road game for the Montreal Impact on Saturday night as the two sides played to a 1-1 draw.
“It’s a little bit disappointing, but this is a game we can build on,” said Impact head coach Frank Klopas. “Both teams had some chances. It was a very good effort by the group. We had very good moments in this game and we now have a week to work and go back on the road and look for the result we want.”
McInerney, playing in his 100th career MLS game, celebrated by scoring his 5th goal in seven matches played for the bleu-blanc-noir across all competitions. Once again, Justin Mapp was the setup man as it seems that there is a nice chemistry developing between the two.
On the goal, the American midfielder was able to find his countryman with a short pass from the end line, with Jack Mac taking one touch before calmly slotting it home.
“I know the players better and the style of play of the team so that transition now leads to goals,” said McInerney. “Hopefully we can keep it going for the rest of the year.”
With just six minutes to play however, D.C. forward Eddie Johnson levelled things up when he jumped to head in a cross by Fabian Espindola in the 84th minute, seemingly out of nowhere as the Impact appeared to have things under control late in the game.
Despite losing the two points late, Impact goalkeeper Troy Perkins thought his team’s effort was there.
“That’s the best we’ve played this season. It was a fantastic team effort,” explained Perkins. “We deserved more, but a draw on the road is a good result. We’re not sad about the draw, but we’re not happy either. We need to find that final step.”
A see-saw first half
The first half played out in the centre of the park, with a lot of the battles waged in midfield. However, both teams came close to breaking through.
D.C. got the better of the chances through the first 20, including when Fabian Espindola found Johnson inside the box 15 minutes in, but his flick over top of the Impact keeper slammed the crossbar.
The bleu-blanc-noir started to swing momentum its way after that, creating a few good looks at goal. Five minutes before the half, the black and gold’s keeper, Bill Hamid, was forced to make two big saves off of Impact mid Sanna Nyassi two minutes apart, the first from in close, while the second was from outside the box.
D.C. keeper Bill Hamid kept his team in it with two back-to-back stops, punching away a Nyassi shot from a partial break before blocking the rebound attempt by McInerney in the 40thminute.
Second half substitute Luis Silva came close to rewarding Hamid with a blast from distance in the 74th minute, but that one also rang off the crossbar.
Next Game
The bleu-blanc-noir continues its road stretch, heading to Colorado to take on the Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Saturday, May 24, at 9pm EDT.
Lineups
MTL – GK-Troy Perkins; D-Jeb Brovsky, Heath Pearce, Wandrille Lefèvre, Hassoun Camara; M-Patrice Bernier, Hernan Bernardello, Sanna Nyassi (Maxim Tissot 90’), Felipe (Calum Mallace 76’), Justin Mapp; F-Jack McInerney (Santiago Gonzalez 82’)
Subs not used: GK-Evan Bush; D-Karl W. Ouimette; M-Andrés Romero
DCU – GK-Bill Hamid; D-Chris Korb, Bobby Boswell (Lewis Neal 75’), Jeff Parke, Cristian Fernandez; M-Nick DeLeon, Perry Kitchen, Davy Arnaud (Luis Silva 65’), Chris Rolfe; F-Eddie Johnson (Conor Doyle 90+3’), Fabian Espindola
Subs not used: GK-Andrew Dykstra; D-Steven Birnbaum, Nana Attakora; F-Alex Caskey
Goals
MTL – McInerney (Mapp) 56’
DCU – Johnson (Espindola, Rolfe) 84’
Cautions
MTL – Bernardello 67’
DCU – DeLeon 77’
DCU – Neal 85’
MTL – Bernier 90+2’
