The Montreal Impact kicked off their 2014 CONCACAF Champions League campaign last night against C.D. FAS, from El Salvador. The team from Quebec are the lone representatives from Canada after defeating Toronto FC in the final of the Amway Canadian Championship in early June. With the 2014 MLS playoffs effectively out of reach for Montreal, the CONCACAF Champions League provides a fresh start for the Impact who will try and get out of the group stage for the first time since 2008.
Marco Di Vaio to the Rescue:
Montreal opened the scoring in the 21st minute thanks to a goal from Italian Marco Di Vaio. The striker was left unmarked by the C.D. FAS defence for an easy header provided by a cross from Brazilian Felipe. The play in the first half see-sawed with the majority of the attack coming through Impact midfielder Andrés Romero. Romero continues his resurgence this season after struggling through much of last season. Both teams failed to carve out any dominance, and the final 10 minutes of the first half ground to a halt with sloppy play and poor passing.
Waiting on Piatti:
The Impact started the second half more lively with newcomer Dilly Duka asserting himself in a more attacking role. Duka was recently acquired in a trade from Chicago for Sanna Nyassi. As the second half progressed Montreal were able to assert themselves more, as the midfield opened up. There were times during the second half when one could see what an impact new DP Ignacio Piatti could have on the game were he in Montreal already. The Impact really lack a player that can link the midfield to the attack, and if Piatti lives up to all of the hype he will be a big addition for Montreal.
10 Minutes of Chaos:
The game took a turn for Montreal when Impact defender Hassoun Camara received a straight red card for a late challenge with his studs up in the 72nd minute. Ten minutes later, Impact manager Frank Klopas was sent off for wandering outside the technical area. This was reminiscent of last season when former Montreal coach Marco Schällibaum was suspended on multiple occasions for wandering outside of his technical area. Although the end of the game became sloppy, much like at the end of the first half, the Impact were able to hang on for the three points, and their first victory in any competition since June 29 which came against Houston.
Impact will Need to be Better to Exit the Group:
Although the Impact got the victory last night, they will have to play much better against New York Red Bulls if they hope to progress out of the group stage of the Champions League. The next match for Montreal comes occurs on August 9 in Philadelphia, and their next Champions League game is on August 20 in El Salvador. The Impact will be wary of the match in El Salvador as their Champions League campaign was ended by a team from Guatemala, C.D. Heredia, last year.
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