Montreal Impact vs Chicago Fire ratings

Coach: Frank Klopas – 4/10

Obviously, you can’t really blame Klopas for how poorly the Impact players performed, but he is partly responsible for hindering their success on the pitch, by playing certain players out of position. I was confused right from the get go to see Oyongo draw-in at LW/LM instead of fullback, and Reo-Coker at RB.

The only explanation for such a move is the fact that Klopas feels obligated to play Reo-Coker somewhere, anywhere on the pitch. It is his Achilles heel and it always has been: he falls in love with players and plays them even when they’re not really deserving.

K: Evan Bush – 5.5/10

Evan was one of the very, very few players that didn’t have a bad game, and even then, he had his share of miscues. He made some nice saves, and continued his good work on aerials in the box, but boy, did he struggle with his goal kicks.

It would be one thing if his counterpart, Jon Busch, was also giving away balls left and right, but it wasn’t really the case. The Impact keeper seemed to be the only one who couldn’t figure out the wind factor, and was all over the place with his kicks as a result. The Fire’ 3^rd goal was a direct result of a Bush misfired goal kick.

CB: Laurent Ciman – 6.5/10

Laurent didn’t have a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, but wasn’t maybe as zoned-in with his coverage in the box as he usually is. Still made more tackles and clearances than anyone on the team, though, and with Bush, was one of the few bright spots on a very gloomy day.

CB: Bakary Soumare – 3.5/10

Way before Donadel stamped out any chance of an Impact comeback, Soumare literally gave the Fire the lead, giving the ball away needlessly outside of the box. Outmuscled by a man much smaller than him, it’s a bit of a theme for the huge Malian, who doesn’t seem to dominate like he should considering his size.

What’s frustrating is that he tries to compensate for his lack of combativity by making ill-advised runs with the ball, that almost always results in a loss of possession.

LB: Donny Toia 6/10

Making his first start in about month at LB, Toia was decent defensively, and was rarely troubled much down his side of the pitch. Wasn’t particularly good with his passing nor runs up the field, but its hard to really fault him much, as the Impact offense had no flow to it whatsoever on the day.

RB: Nigel Reo-Coker 4/10

Along with Soumare in the back 4, he struggled mightily on the day. Honestly, I blame the coach as much as the player here, since there was no good reason to make the Englishman play 1 v 1 with a speedster like Accam all day. Reo-Coker could only do so much, and as a result was beaten time and again down his side of the field.

DM: Marco Donadel 3/10

Marco=fail. I guess he read too many of my articles defending him, because he clearly decided that he could do no wrong on the pitch, which was well, wrong. What’s a little confusing with Donadel is that he doesn’t play lazy, and is quick to move the ball when he gets it. It just seems like he has this need to make a mark on the game with a tackle, and ill-timed ones at that.

The Impact are no stranger to players who can’t seem to control themselves on the pitch (Rivas, Camara, Issey Nakajima-Farran), and one has to wonder if it’s an internal problem that plagues the team in that they have trouble curbing such players.

DM: Calum Mallace – 5/10

Along with Donadel, Mallace struggled to control the Chicago Fire offensive flow, letting balls through too easily and not putting enough pressure on ball carriers. Was a mixed bag offensively, sometimes making good moves going forward, other times passing the ball up field to no one, or simply giving it away needlessly.

LM: Dilly Duka 6.5/10

In a game where most Impact players lacked commitment and effort, Duka gave it his all, in spite of everything. Didn’t really create any serious scoring chances but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. He was by far the best Impact midfielder on the day.

CAM: Nacho Piatti – 5/10

Simply put, Piatti just never got into this game. Maybe it’s the weather or the pitch (or both?) but the Argentinian couldn’t find a way to implicate himself positively in the game. After seeing him and McInerney hook up often over the past few games, there was a serious lack of chemistry between the two on Saturday, and it’s probably down to both not being fully committed to putting in a shift.

RM: Ambroise Oyongo – 5.5/10

Poor Ambroise, it’s barely been a game that he’s been with the club and he’s already playing out of position. Started to warm up to the task in the second half, getting a shot off that had decent curl on it, and he made a few effective runs that almost came off. Still, his first touch wasn’t always the best, and he seemed more effective playing defense than offense.

Striker: Jack McInerney 5/10

Like Piatti, Jack-Mac had a lot of difficulty finding his footing in this one. Struggled with his passing and wasn’t as effective with his movement as he’s been of late.

Subs: Eric Alexander, Anthony Jackson-Hamel, Patrice Bernier

All three came on after the game was fairly out of hand, and none of them really made a mark on the proceedings. It was nice to see Jackson-Hamel make an appearance, but unfortunately he came on in one of the worst possible situations, a game where none of his teammates had any confidence and the team down a man. As a result, the youngster rarely had any time on the ball.