Photo credit: Montreal Impact
Montreal Impact 4-New England Revolution 2
Anthony Jackson-Hamel’s two-goal performance powered the Montreal Impact (3-6-0, 9 points) to a 4-2 victory over the New England Revolution (4-3-2, 14 points) on Saturday at Stade Saputo in Montreal.
The Impact forward found the back of the net for the first time in the 45+2 minute when he kept himself onside to make himself available for Ignacio Piatti, who served Jackson-Hamel a perfect ball before beating Matt Turner one on one.
Jackson-Hamel’s second strike arrived in the 52nd minute when he combined again with Piatti and tapped through an easy shot near the six to widen Montreal’s margin.
Raheem Edwards made it three-goal affair when he took a pass from Piatt and beat Turner from close range in the 65th minute.
After assisting on this team’s first three tallies, Piatti chose the role of goalscorer in the 68th minute when he buried a pass from Samuel Piette.
But the Revolution, who conceded a season-high four goals, didn’t go down without a fight. Wilfried Zahibo nodded a Diego Fagundez corner kick into the back of the net in the 78th minute before scoring another with an acrobatic shot in the 86th to cut the lead in half.
When it was all said and done, Montreal put the skids on a five-game losing streak while New England’s two-game unbeaten run came to an end in the process.
The Impact will face the Fire in Chicago next Saturday while the Revolution will host Toronto FC next weekend.
HEADLINES
Jackson-Hamel breaks through: To say Montreal’s speed merchant had a day would be an understatement. In only his second start of the season, Jackson-Hamel notched his first two goals of the season seven minutes apart, which may have been a response to the criticism he received from coach Remi Garde earlier in the week.
Piatti’s presence felt: How much can one man influence a match? Plenty, if you watched Saturday’s Impact-Revolution match. After missing Montreal’s first encounter against New England (which the Impact lost 4-0), the Italian playmaker appeared omnipresent en route to a three-assist, one-goal performance.
Agudelo exits with injury: Call it a bad omen, if you will, but the Revolution’s hopes took a turn for the worse in the 32nd minute when starting midfielder Juan Agudelo picked up a knock to his left leg. Agudelo entered the match with one goal and two assists in eight games, including back-to-back starts at Columbus and vs. Sporting Kansas City.
Changes coming for Revs defense? After allowing an average of only one goal per game through their first eight games, the Revolution weren’t just beaten by the Impact; they were torched. All four Montreal goals came within a 23-minute span. Making matters worse, goalkeeper Matt Turner was forced to come off his line far too often to prevent further leaks. It’ll be interesting to see what changes Brad Friedel contemplates against a strong Toronto FC side that awaits them next weekend.
NE Revolution
MLS
