Montreal Impact 2017 Pre-Season Roundup
By Rohit Menon
The 2017 Montreal Impact pre-season had two stints in Florida from Jan 23-Feb 25 and the players took part in five exhibition games.
Montreal Impact pre-season campaign came to a conclusion a few days ago following two stints which took place in Orlando and St. Petersburg respectively. Five friendly fixtures were played over February with three of them coming against MLS clubs as Impact ramped up their preparations ahead of the 2017 MLS season opener against San Jose on March 4.
Here is a quick roundup of all their pre-season matches:
Montreal Impact Pre-Season: Orlando, Florida (Jan 23 – Feb 3)
February 2: South Florida Bulls 0-2 Montreal Impact
Montreal Impact’s first pre-season training camp came to a conclusion with a 2-0 win against the South Florida Bulls. Both goals were scored by MLS SuperDraft recruit Nick Depuy – the first came courtesy of a 58th-minute left-footed strike and the second was a low right-footed finish just before 90 minutes.
Dominic Oduro and Patrice Bernier picked up one assist apiece, as most of the Impact roster got playing time including new signing Chris Duvall. There was also 40 minutes of action in store for 2014 Impact MVP Andres Romero, who is making a comeback to the team after missing last season with a knee injury.
Montreal Impact Pre-Season: St. Petersburg, Florida (Feb 14-26)
February 15: Chicago Fire 4-1 Montreal Impact
Montreal Impact was dispatched 4-1 by a full-strength Chicago Fire team in their second pre-season friendly ahead of the 2017 MLS Season. Head Coach Mauro Biello named an experimental and mostly youthful line-up for the first half and this decision backfired quite early for the Italian, who saw his side go three goals down in the first 20 minutes.
The second half saw some of the Impact’s more regular starters come on, but the damage couldn’t be limited; a fourth goal was conceded in the 64th minute to effectively put the game to bed. Impact did pick up a consolation goal however with Ignacio Piatti converting an 88th-minute penalty.
February 18: DC United 2-4 Montreal Impact
A much stronger Montreal Impact line-up was on display in a 4-2 win against DC United in St. Petersburg. They started off the match with great intensity and opened the scoring via Dominic Oduro in the 6th minute, but a typical Steve Birnbaum header levelled proceedings just eight minutes later.
Ignacio Piatti’s 21st-minute penalty ensured that Impact had the lead going into half-time before Matteo Mancosu registered his first goal of the pre-season to make it 3-1. It soon became 3-2 after Cabrera put the ball into his own net, although Jackson-Hamel ended the contest with a fourth for Impact in the 90th minute.
February 22: Philadelphia Union 2-2 Montreal Impact
The Impact fought back twice after going a goal down to earn a 2-2 draw against Philadelphia Union. Mauro Biello’s side entered the break 1-0 down and couldn’t break through their stubborn opposition’s defense till Nick DePuy made it 1-1 with his third goal of the pre-season in the 68th minute.
Sapong’s 82nd-minute header gave Union the lead for the second time in the match but that didn’t last for too long as Jackson-Hamel scored his second stoppage time goal in as many games to give the Impact a pre-season record of 2-1-1.
February 25: Tampa Bay Rowdies 2-1 Montreal Impact
The final game of the pre-season campaign ended on a slightly sour note for Montreal as they went down 2-1 to Tampa Bay Rowdies. Former Chelsea player Joe Cole struck first for the hosts in the 34th minute and DeShorn Brown made it 2-0 six minutes later to send the Impact back to the dressing room with a lot to think about.
The physical nature of the game was too much for the Bleu-blanc-noir as they struggled to create any chances of real value in the second half. They slipped to a defeat following Ignacio Piatti’s 71st-minute penalty conversion, which was his third penalty goal of the pre-season.
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Final Thoughts:
A record of two wins, two losses, and a draw isn’t something to boast about and Mauro Biello will have to keep this in mind ahead of the first match of the 2017 MLS season. Impact have no problem scoring goals, but they will need to make more of an effort defensively, having conceded as many as they have scored (10) in the last five matches.