Wanyama’s Montreal Impact fail to secure second straight win after Philadelphia Union loss

Kiplagat Sang

Wanyama’s Montreal Impact fail to secure second straight win after Philadelphia Union loss image

Victor Wanyama and Montreal Impact failed to build on their recent good form after they went down to Philadelphia Union in a 2-1 defeat on Sunday.

Montreal Impact had ended what had become a poor run by drawing against Chicago Fire before handing Columbus Crew SC a first defeat of the year but the latest results mean the momentum has been slowed.

The win ensured Philadelphia Union are in second place on the Eastern Conference table after a match that included the fans for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic.

Jamiro Monteiro and Sergio Santos ensured Thierry Henry's side was not going to register a second straight win while Amara Sejdic was Montreal Impact’s scorer on a rainy Sunday.

Henry bemoaned the chance that was wasted by Romell Quioto that would have tied the game at 2-2 in the 86th minute.

“We need to learn, as quickly as possible because there’s been a lot lately, how to manage our moments,” Henry said in his post-match reaction.

“We had a one-on-one, an opportunity to come back into the game, and once again we don’t understand moments. Instead of burying the goal, some people think about trying to be pretty. You have to score there it’s not about being pretty.

“You have to be more aggressive in terms of finishing and not try to be pretty. But having said that, the team didn’t give up, they came back into it and again I’ll say it; I don’t think we deserve to lose but we did.”

The World Cup winner said facing two strong teams in a span of a week was not an easy task and ultimately they fell short.

“We could have gone out, logically I think, with a draw but unfortunately it’s not the case. Now, going to Columbus and then Philadelphia wasn’t easy,” he added.

“We could have pulled a coup, where four points against the both of them aren’t bad. Now, when you look at the game we played you can say that it was a missed opportunity.”

On his part, Philadelphia Union manager Jim Curtin acknowledged their opponents were unlucky.

“[It's] a Montreal team that for me has been on the unlucky side of a lot of results and is a real quality team,” Curtin said.

“Thierry has them playing very good soccer, they're disciplined, they're tough to break down, they play the right way. I thought they made us very uncomfortable, especially in the first half and it really disrupted us.

“A very good opponent that I'm sure we'll probably see down the road in the playoffs.” 

Wanyama and teammates will face New England on September 15.

 

 

Kiplagat Sang