Impact Can Only Ask ‘What if?’ Following Blowout Loss

NE Revolution vs. Montreal
April 6, 2018

It was the question that loomed in the Impact locker room following Friday’s 4-0 loss to the Revolution: What if?

What if Ignacio Piatti had been healthy enough to dress?

What if Saphir Taider hadn’t been sent off in the 14th minute?

What if they hadn’t conceded right before the break?

Of course, Montreal could only wonder after the breaks only continued to fall in their foes’ favor in a match that left the guests shaking their heads.

“It was a real tough night,” Impact keeper Evan Bush told the media after the match. “When you go down a man early, it kind of changes the whole game obviously. We came in already missing a couple of guys. It made a tough job even tougher.”

Even without a player of Piatti’s pedigree at their disposal, the Impact still found a way to put the Revolution on their heels. They held 66 percent of the possession in the first 10 minutes as New England’s vaunted attack struggled to assert themselves.

Then came the fateful play that changed the game completely.

In the 14th minute, Taider planted his studs into Luis Caicedo’s right leg, thus cutting short the Montreal midfielder’s night.

“It’s frustrating, obviously,” Midfielder Samuel Piette told the media after the match. “It’s funny to say, but I think we dealt very well against these guys 11 against 11 the first minutes of the game. I think we could’ve good chances with even guys on the field. But to lose Saphir, a big player for us, it’s hard.”

Photo Credit: Kari Heistad

Despite their predicament, the Impact managed to keep it close as halftime approached. Shortly after Teal Bunbury scored the opener, Bush denied Diego Fagundez from the spot, a sign that, perhaps, the Impact could possibly claw back.

That hope, however, was dealt a massive blow when Andrew Farrell tallied in the 45+6 minute.

“You’re only probably going to get one or two if I’m being honest, and then we didn’t [take advantage],” Bush said. “They get the second goal before halftime, and it’s a backbreaker.”

Piette, for his part, credited the Revolution for resisting the temptation to let off the gas in latter stages.

“We fought really well today,” Piette said. “But it was really tough – and almost impossible – because they played very well.”

While the scoreline was far from what Montreal envisioned going into the match, Bush took a longer view of what it meant to the club.

“We just wash our hands clean of this one and be thankful that, as the coach said after the game, sometimes it’s better to lose one game 4-0 than lose four games 1-0,” Bush said. “That’s our mentality. We know there are a lot of positive things still, and this was just kind of an outlier.”