Olivier Tremblay covers the Montreal Impact for MLSsoccer.com
MONTREAL – When Troy Perkins landed in Montreal, with Donovan Ricketts moving the other way to Portland, in August 2012, he quickly won over the Montreal fans not only with his ‘by-the-book,’ as then-head coach Jesse Marsch put it, shot-stopping, but also with his reliable play with the ball to his feet.
So when, last weekend, Perkins tried to play his way out of trouble in front of Mike Magee only for Magee to steal the ball and put the Chicago Fire in front, there was disappointment among the Impact fan base, as expected. But there was also disbelief that the usually solid Perkins would get caught in such a manner against a proven goalscorer like Magee.
Maxim Tissot’s late equalizer for a 2-2 draw helping, Perkins answered every question with his usual candor and amenability on Monday morning and stated that he had recognized his fault “right away” on Saturday night.
“It’s a mistake,” Perkins told reporters. “It’s not going to be my last one, it certainly wasn’t my first one. But we all laughed about it a little bit. If I make a mistake, I can go five, ten minutes later and make a big save. That’s the way you have to rebound from it. That’s a good reaction.”
While Alex’s 81st-minute shot from just inside the area turned into a straightforward stop for Perkins, the goalkeeper did make a crucial intervention seconds later on Juan Anangono’s attempt: he tipped the ball to his left and saw it bounce off the post back into play, which led to Hassoun Camara clearing another Magee shot off the line.
Minutes before, Magee had had another chance against Perkins. But he smashed his penalty kick against the bar, and Montreal fans felt justice had been served, as they had seen Magee get a handful of Perkins’ shirt in the lead-up to his second goal.
“He gave me a little gesture at the end of the game, saying that he was surprised that the referee didn't call it on him.” Perkins said.
But one thing's for certain, the veteran goalkeeper won’t be feeding opposition forwards his shirt this Friday in Houston.
“I’m not worried about that,” Perkins replied when asked about a hypothetical Will Bruin or Giles Barnes shirt tug. “I told [my teammates] ‘Don't worry, guys, it’s not happening the next game.’”
