Six, five, five, four, five, five, three, five and five.
That’s how many goals the previous nine visitors at StubHub Center had conceded.
The LA Galaxy were in we-can-do-whatever-we-want form going into this Saturday’s game against the Montreal Impact, who knew they were in for quite the challenge.
Well, challenge accepted. For the first time in 10 games across all competitions, the visitors shut the Galaxy out at home as Montreal got out of StubHub Center with a deserved 0-0 tie. They didn’t bunker in, either. This was a two-way game that Montreal interim head coach Mauro Biello was pleased with.
“When you suffer a little bit, you’ve got to try and break their rhythm, and we were able to do that,” Biello told reporters post game. “If we feel that they’re a little bit on their heels, that’s when we have to increase the intensity and push. We got some chances out of it. We were unlucky [not] to finish the couple at the end, but overall, I’m happy with the result.”
Far from looking in awe of the opposition’s stars, the Impact approached the game with serenity and confidence. It looked as if Montreal had gone back six months in time, when they were taking on CONCACAF Champions League fixtures with that attitude.
Center back Wandrille Lefèvre certainly thought so. Montreal, he said, wanted to stay compact, knowing that LA may stumble and they'd perhaps find chances on the counter.
“There’s a mentality developing here – not giving up anything,” Lefèvre said. “It’s a shame about last week, because you look at the result, and we gave up three goals, so we absolutely wanted to address that. Looking at our mentality, our togetherness, our readiness to fight for a colleague that lost a ball, it’s important to build a group’s identity. We saw that tonight.”
And that may be a warning signal for other MLS teams. With so many results going the Impact’s way elsewhere in MLS, the playoffs are an increasing possibility. Away form hasn't been Montreal's forte these past years, but if they can improve on that front, they’ve already shown what they can do in a knockout tournament.
“You try to avoid saying that you’re sending messages – it’s more of a message to ourselves, that we can come on the road and get results,” goalkeeper Evan Bush said. “These are the defending champions. To get a clean sheet here, you wonder how you give up three goals at home to Chicago the week before. We’re just looking forward now, and we’re happy with what happened tonight.”
Olivier Tremblay covers the Montreal Impact for MLSsoccer.com.
