Piatti, Silva score in Impact's 2-0 victory over Sporting KC

Julian McKenzie

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Piatti, Silva score in Impact's 2-0 victory over Sporting KC image

MONTREAL ---The sweltering and humid temperatures may have been bothersome for a few of the 16,000 plus fans in attendance, and even some players. But the red-hot Montreal Impact held their own Saturday night, in the hopes of salvaging their season.

Montreal earned three points in a 2-0 win against the Western Conference-leading Sporting Kansas City at Stade Saputo Saturday night. Environment Canada posted a humidex of 40 degrees Celcius with the humidity, as the city of Montreal, and a number of cities in Eastern Canada, are going through a heat wave. 

“I won’t hide the fact that there’s a lot of joy going through our locker room tonight,” Impact manager Remi Garde told the media Saturday night. 

MORE: MLS 2018: Montreal Impact TV schedule, fixtures and streams

The Impact now have four wins in their last five matches and have only allowed two goals in the entire month of June, both coming in a 2-0 loss to FC Dallas on June 9th. Montreal now has the longest shutout streak of the season, having not allowed a goal in 342 minutes. The last time Montreal allowed a goal at home was on May 21 — a 1-0 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy.

“I think that as a team we’ve really committed to the defensive side,” Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush said. “In the past when we say we’ve committed to the defensive side, sometimes that meant we sat deep and we just looked to counter. That’s not really the case. We’re pressing in the areas we need to press.” 

One significant reason why the Impact defense has been so ironclad as of late is Rod Fanni, who will stay with Montreal for the rest of the season. The 36-year old originally signed a contract that ran through June 30, but manager Remi Garde announced that he’d remain with the team for the rest of the season after the match.

“It’s good news for the team,” Garde said. “He played very well and everybody’s happy that he’s staying.” 

Both teams were scoreless at halftime, but Montreal had some bad news come their way minutes before the break. Midfielder Samuel Piette hurt his hip, forcing Garde to substitute him off for Shamit Shome in the 37th minute. Fortunately for Montreal, Garde says the injury isn’t “too bad”. 

The Impact scored both their goals in the second half. Ignacio Piatti, who was named to the Major League Soccer All-Star team earlier this week, scored the team’s first of the evening in the 54th minute. 

16 minutes later, winger Alejandro Silva scored from the penalty spot following a foul on defender Daniel Lovitz. Once the referee pointed to the spot for a penalty, many may have assumed that Piatti would step up to try and score his second of the day. However, the Argentinian let his Uruguayan counterpart take the penalty. 

Silva then hopped and skipped towards the ball, before coolly putting the ball past Sporting KC’s keeper Tim Melia. 

“I’ve seen Silva do that penalty a bunch of times in training where he does the hop,” Bush said. “Every time I look at it, I’m like ‘no way he’s going to do this in a game. And I see him do it and I’m like ‘oh my god’.

“Alejandro played a great game today,” manager Remi Garde told the media. “He worked hard and we saw that he’s raised his game since the beginning of the season.”

Montreal’s victory momentarily put them in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, before a Chicago Fire victory sent them down in a tie with Philadelphia for seventh place. Montreal, despite losing 10 of its first 13 matches, remain two points out of a playoff spot in the East. 

“Everyone was impatient watching us at the beginning of the season,” Saphir Taider said. “We’re also a young team."

“Working and keeping our head up on our shoulders when we had bad times or when we were criticized,” Taider added. “I think that’s when we saw the mental quality of this group and in this moment we’re good, but things change quickly. We will remain vigilant.”

The Impact will next play against the Colorado Rapids on July 7 at Stade Saputo. Three of the club’s upcoming four matches will be at home. 

Julian McKenzie