by Graham Tooke, @chelskitooke
Photos courtesy of Montreal Impact
The Impact clamped down on three points through Ignacio Piatti’s 83rd minute winner for their third straight at home. The Whitecaps however, had to settle for an opening defeat to their five-game road trip as they made a number of changes to their regular lineup.
The focal point of the attack was left to Darren Mattocks to build upon his previous bright performances, although as a lone striker he just doesn’t seem to be fitting in as a direct replacement for Octavio Rivero.
Pedro Morales took a seat on the bench for Nicolas Mezquida to flank Mauro Rosales, while Russell Teibert took the captains armband.
Laurent Ciman hit a spectacular volley off the crossbar
Montreal started the match very comfortable in possession stroking the ball around while Mezquida and Manneh chased. The backline of Parker, Waston, Rodriguez and Harvey seemed to cope well enough with the Impact’s forward movements. That was until the 14th minute when Laurent Ciman lashed a vicious strike off the crossbar. Jack McInerney kept himself onside and neatly finished off the rebound to give Montreal the lead.
Unlike when they were chasing the game in Colorado, Vancouver managed to add a bit of danger to their attack. Mezquida had a near post flick cleared by Bernier on the post. And then Mauro Rosales fed Kekuta Manneh on the penalty spot but he could only scoop his shot over the bar.
Those promising moments weren’t without their mistakes as Tim Parker sprayed a wild ball across the backline that Rodriguez struggled to control before almost gifting it back to the opposition.
Prior to half time Rosales continued to provide a spark rounding his mark in the area before going to ground, Mezquida fired the loose ball into the frame of Ciman.
Mattocks then imitated Ciman cracking a fine half volley against the left hand post.
At half time the referee cleared up a clerical error prior to kick off. The Whitecaps had mistakenly listed Pa-Modou Kah as the centre back for the match but Diego Rodriguez started. The confusion had, for the first half at least, led everyone to believe that mistake would count as a substitution against Vancouver. Meaning they had two left for the remainder of the match. Needless to say, logic prevailed and the Whitecaps retained all three of their substitutions for the second half.
Matias Laba’s performance was full of energy but one can’t help feel he’s restricted playing alongside another DM
Despite impressing since going down a goal the Whitecaps failed miserably to build upon the momentum they had gained in the first half. Montreal came out and dominated for large spells with Piatti most impressive.
But as much as the Whitecaps looked disjointed the Impact did allow the game to sway end to end. At one end Waston headed into Evan Bush’s hands before Ignacio Piatti streaked along the front of the 18 yard box evading challenges, fortunately Harvey lunged to block the effort.
Andres Romero kept Ousted on his toes with a clever chip that the keeper did well to tip over.
And despite the ‘Caps being up against the wall for much of the half, Jordan Harvey found enough space to drive into the box and win a penalty after a clumsy challenge. Second half substitute Pedro Morales slotted his side level.
That score line only lasted a matter of minutes as the ‘Caps strung out backline failed to deal with Romero. The Argentine inched closer towards goal before setting up a wide open Piatti to tap into the bottom corner.
Both sides threw caution to the wind for the final minutes but it was Montreal who came closest to extending their lead when the superb Piatti attempted a deft chip that Ousted stretched to pluck out of the top corner.
The defeat will sting slightly but they undoubtedly have a tougher challenge heading to see the LA Galaxy Saturday night. While Montreal head to Columbus with the playoff spots in sight.
