Recap: #IMFC vs #LAGalaxy

Celebrating 25 years of existence and the visit of the Swedish legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic meant a sold out crowd on a beautiful Monday afternoon. As a great soccer afternoon announced itself and Impact looked a little more present in their game fans were hopeful but the more time went the more panic set in that the Bleu Blanc Noir was unable to seal the deal despite favorable conditions.

Early on both teams exchanged opportunities. LA Galaxy getting the first one as Kamara created some space for himself by deeking a few players in the box but Bush came up with a big reflex save. On the other side of the pitch, Piatti produced a similar play and again the keeper had the better of the shooter.

Towards the end of the first half an altercation between Zlatan and Petrasso took place behind the play. After video review, a red card was issued to the Swedish striker for violent conduct and Petrasso got a yellow for stepping on Zlatan's foot.

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Coming back after the half the Impact were a man up and created a few nice scoring opportunities. In the 54th minute Piatti lobbed the ball from one side of the box to the other where Silva finished off the play with a super volley but the keeper, Bingham made a big stop. Just moments later Edwards took a rocket shot from outside the box but again the keeper made the save.

From that point on the Impact continued to advance towards the net but did not manage to create anything of quality many chances went wide, some very wide. They lacked quality in the final third and as time passed they seem to become more nervous to get on the scoreboard.

In the 75th minute, the Galaxy capitalize on what was one of their few opportunities of the half. Ola Kamara beat out both Donadel and Raitala on the play before getting the shot in the back of the net.

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The Impact did attempt to push back but too many tried to be the hero with long range shots or crosses to no one. In the end it was too late for the Impact to be present in the game.

Playing at home against a struggling opposition that has dropped their last four already had the Impact ahead or at least even with their opponents. They then went up a man with more than half of the game to go, more importantly the player ejected is the star player of the opponent. The Impact had every thing going their way but the more time went on during the game the more nerves set in knowing they could not drop this one. One error led to the opponent capitalizing on one of their few opportunities of the second half and just like that the spirit of the players and fan seem to disappear. This one was a not a gut wrenching defeat or a disappointing one it was just reality setting in of what the season will be. The Impact are not strong enough to be competitors in this league if they are the team we've seen in the past few games. If one positive note can be drawn the owner, Joey Saputo is aware that the Bleu-Blanc-Noir is not of caliber and he will be making the necessary changes to get there but it won't happen overnight.

3 Observations

• The Canadian Settling in: When Edwards was picked up, many Toronto fans were disappointed as they saw him as a player for the future of their club. This made Montreal fans very hopeful upon his arrival but since the beginning of the season we've seen few impressive moments from him. Since the comments from Garde Edwards has been settling in and given his man of the match honors fans have noticed. The Canadian international created a few nice chances and his rocket from outside the 18 yard box showed his confidence was also starting to show.

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• Steep Uphill Battle: The Impact are 3-9-0 their worse start in their history and while the hope for any success this season is mostly extinguished the page needs to be turned into the future of this club. A good core group needs to be built in order for the club to have a clear idea of what they need to acquire. They have the opportunity to try things and figure out what works for each player and also give the opportunity to players to prove themselves.
• Switch of Focus: The Impact have a golden opportunity to give a little joy to their fans in the Canadian Championship. A tournament they've had quite a bit of success in and one that is always full of passion and leads to the CONCACAF Champions League. If not a consolation prize to say the least, Saputo will likely want to spend even more if the team reaches the CONCACAF Champions league.

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Lineups

MTL – G-Evan Bush; D-Michael Petrasso, Marco Donadel, Jukka Raitala, Chris Duvall (Anthony Jackson-Hamel 64’); M-Samuel Piette, Alejandro Silva (Jeisson Vargas 75’), Ken Krolicki, Saphir Taider, Raheem Edwards; A-Ignacio Piatti

Unused subs – Clément Diop, Rudy Camacho, Louis Béland-Goyette, Shamit Shome, Matteo Mancosu

LAG – G-David Bingham; D-Emrah Klimenta, Michael Ciani, Jorgen Skjelvikm Dave Romney; M-Perry Kitchen, Sebastian Lletget (Chris Pontius 64’), Romain Alessandrini (Emmanuel Boateng 64’), Jonathan Dos Santos, Ola Kamara (Tomas Hilliard-Arce 90’+1’); A-Zlatan Ibrahimović

Unused subs – Justin vom Steeg, Daniel Steres, Servando Carrasco, João Pedro

GOAL

LAG – Kamara (Boateng) 75’

CAUTIONS

LAG – Lletget 22’

LAG – Kitchen 37’

MTL – Petrasso 41’

MTL – Donadel 68’

MTL – Raitala 71’

LAG – Bingham 87’

EJECTION

LAG – Ibrahimović 41’