Nashville SC defeated Victor Wanyama’s Montreal Impact 1-0 on Tuesday at Red Bull Arena to close in on the Major League Soccer Cup playoffs.
The vital goal was scored by Randall Leal in the 33rd minute to ensure they condemned Montreal Impact to their second successive defeat.
The goal came courtesy of Alex Muyl's quick decision-making after he had been fouled by Jukka Raitala.
He played the free-kick quickly to Leal who outran Montreal Impact’s backline and found himself through on goal and the final job was to beat goalkeeper Clement Diop and score his third goal of the season.
Walker Zimmerman could have doubled Nashville lead in the 64th minute. He rose to meet a free-kick and headed towards the far post but Joel Waterman reacted quickly to clear the ball and save the host from conceding the second goal.
Wanyama’s side could have equalised in the 84th minute after Romell Quioto made a fine run on the left flank before he crossed the ball for Bojan Krkic. The Honduran then found his way into the goal area and scored but his goal was ruled out for offside.
The win saw Nashville distance themselves from Montreal Impact in the Eastern Conference standings and moved above New York Red Bulls and are now seventh on the log.
It now means their place in the playoffs is almost certain while for Wanyama’s Montreal Impact they have a herculean task after losing the second straight game to a direct playoff opponent.
They have two games to try and see whether they can get enough points to earn a playoffs ticket.
The loss came after Thierry Henry accepted to shoulder the blame for the defeat to New York City FC three days ago.
“It was my fault. Maybe we should have stayed [in New York] and trained,” Henry said at the time.
“I wanted to have faith in my guys and think about the mental aspect. But it’s my fault, no problem. We made, again, a clear mistake that changed the rhythm of the game and changed everything.
“But I take the blame. For everything that’s been happening, I take the blame. Those guys are dealing with something that’s very difficult and I take the blame. It’s as simple as that.”
Montreal Impact will face Orlando City FC on Sunday.