CCL Quarterfinal Preview: Pachuca vs Montreal Impact
Expect an intense affair in what could be a surprisingly close match when the Montreal Impact travel to Mexico to take on Pachuca, Tuesday evening.
Despite finishing with the least amount of points in all of Major League Soccer last season, the Montreal Impact were still able to win the AMWAY Canadian Championship and advance to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League. They didn’t lose a single game against the likes of Thierry Henry’s New York Red Bulls and CD Fas from El Salvador to top Group 3.
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The Impact are one of only two remaining Major League Soccer sides left in this year’s CONCACAF Champions League and while not many believe that Montreal have the quality to be the first team from the league to ever win the tournament, many MLS supporters are hoping they can at least reach the semifinals.
It remains to be seen what kind of form the Impact will be in though when they step on the pitch Tuesday evening. Considering it’ll be their first competitive match since the end of the 2014 MLS season in October, not many are sure what we’ll see from Frank Klopas’ side in Mexico.
“It’s a different team this year than it was last year, with a lot of changes that we made to the team,” head coach Frank Klopas told reporters last week. “With less time to prepare, it makes it a little bit more difficult, but we were out here [in Mexico] early and we wanted to give ourselves every opportunity to get as ready as we possibly can to face a good team.”
Tale of the tape
Group Stage Record: Montreal Impact (3-1-0) Pachuca (3-0-1)
Current League Position: Montreal Impact (Finished 19th) Pachuca (10th)
Leading Goal Scorer In Group Stage: Montreal Impact (Marco Di Vaio/4) Pachuca (Ariel Gerardo Nahuelpan/4)
Game Time(s): Leg 1- @ Nuevo Hidaldo (Pachuca) Tuesday February 24 (10 PM/EST)
Leg 2- @ Olympic Stadium (Montreal) Tuesday March 3 (8 PM/EST)
Regardless of the fine form they showed in the group stage, the draw provided Montreal no favours when they were dealt a difficult quarterfinal opponent in Mexican side, Pachuca.
Pachuca finished first in Group 1 winning three of their four games and currently have the second most goals in this year’s competition. However, their league form to start the season has been less than impressive with only 10 points from 7 matches, losing 3 games already.
“They’re a very good team at home,” Klopas said of Montreal’s quarterfinal opponent. “They will pressure and come out with a very high tempo. Our ability to slow the game down through possession and our decision-making for the areas that we’re looking to attack, pushing numbers forward, is going to be key.”
Tuesday night’s contest between Pachuca and Montreal should be a thrilling affair with the visitors going to do everything in the power to avoid conceding an early goal. The longer the match stays within the grasp of the Impact, the better chance they have of going back to Montreal and pulling off something special.
Even with the poor form Montreal showed throughout last season, fans across Quebec should be excited for the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal showdown with Pachuca.