MONTREAL — After playing six games on the road to start the season, the Montreal Impact are finally back at Stade Saputo.
“Even though everything was well organized and we tried to do the best over these first six games, it’s obvious that we’re pleased to be back,” head coach Remi Garde said. “To have the same feelings we had last year when we were at home, we know that it will be a good test and a good game.
The Impact will host Columbus Crew SC, who are top of the table in the Eastern conference. The Crew reminds Samuel Piette of the bleu-blanc-noir 2019 nemesis, Sporting Kansas City.
“They’re a team that like to have the ball,” Piette said. “They have a similar style to Kansas City, I would say, so it will be very important to not make the same mistake that we made. It’s not a carbon copy, but it will be very similar. So it will be about learning from what didn’t go well over there and not doing that again.”
A crucial factor for the Impact will be not “laying back” because the team is finally at home, according to Garde.
“It’s not because we are coming back home and playing in front of our fans that we have to lose the structure and the discipline that we had in the recent games,” Garde said. “We need to have enthusiasm and play entertaining football, but also to win the game and to be realistic with what we want to do and how we want to do it.
“I think it’s about not letting them dictate the tempo of the game. We need to impose our rhythm, and when I say that, it’s not only offensively, but in the way we get the ball back. Last year, we had a good game against them, so it’s up to us to replicate that.”
No Piatti
The Impact will be without their star player, Ignacio Piatti, for a fourth consecutive game.
Garde confirmed Thursday that Piatti, who is suffering from a leg injury, will not be fit for the team’s home opener. The Argentine will undergo additional medical examinations at the start of next week.
“It developed a little bit, but not as fast as we thought so that’s why we need those complementary examinations,” Garde said.
Road mission accomplished
With a 2-2-2 record on the road to start the season, the Impact can look back at a successful six-game road stint.
After a disastrous 7-1 to Sporting Kansas City, the bleu-blanc-noir ended on a bright note. Garde’s squad bagged their first two clean sheets of the season with two consecutive 0-0 draws.
“It was especially important [to get clean sheets] because we conceded seven goals in Kansas. It was a big accident and it hurt everyone but we had to adjust,” Garde said. “We worked hard and the players answered very well to what I wanted to put back in the team. Now we are closer to the spirit and mentality we had in the second half of last season.”
Garde wants to channel that 2018 mindset and momentum, and he believes that with eight points in the bank his team is on the right track.
“It’s a good start. I would’ve liked if we had more consistency to be less fragile at some moments,” Garde said. “But if you look at other teams in MLS that had the same schedule as us, I think that it’s quite a good start. I think we need to forget that and be focused on what we have in front of us.”