Impact From The Bench!

Following the article, ‘No Impact From The Bench’ some fans have asked for more details on players who actually did emerge from the bench to score in MLS.

So, here we go...


Impact first sub to score -

Andrew Wenger v Toronto FC (Won 2-1 at Stade Olympique, 7 April 2012).

It was the Impact’s first MLS win. Wenger scored in the 81st minute after replacing Bernardo Corradi in the 66th, making the score 2-0. Sinisa Ubiparipovic, still the only Serb to score for the club, had given the Impact a first-half lead. Dutch striker Danny Koevermans made the home crowd sweat when he halved the arrears with two minutes remaining, but the Impact saw it out to collect three points.

It’s also the only occasion in MLS that an Impact sub has scored against Toronto FC.


Impact first player in a season to score twice as a sub -

Sanna Nyassi v New York Red Bulls (W 3-1 at Stade Saputo, 28 July 2012 & W 1-0 at Gillette Stadium, 12 August 2012).

Each time the Gambian winger replaced US international, Justin Mapp.

In the game against the Red Bulls, Nyassi entered the fray on 61 mins and put the Impact into a 3-1 lead on 74 mins, after a certain Thierry Henry had reduced the deficit for the visitors three mins after Nyassi’s introduction.

Against New England at Gillette Stadium, not only did Nyassi become the first Impact sub to score away from home, but his long range rocket, the game’s only goal, won MLS Goal of the Week. I’m certain plenty of you will remember it. On this occasion he replaced Mapp at half-time.

Since Nyassi, four players have repeated the feat of two goalscoring sub appearances in the same season: Blake Smith (2013), Dominic Oduro (2015), Matteo Mancosu (2017) and Anthony Jackson-Hamel (2017).

Jackson-Hamel emerged from the bench that season (2017) to score on no fewer than four occasions, including a double at Philadelphia Union in a 3-3 draw in April. Montreal had been 0-3 down after 39 mins.

Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images

Impact most goalscoring appearances as a sub -

Again Anthony Jackson-Hamel carries off the honours. He’s managed to emerge from the bench in six games, scoring eight times.

AJH is the only player ever to score twice in a game after coming on as a sub, and he’s done it twice; the occasion referred to above, but also v New England at Gillette Stadium in April 2019.

Montreal won 3-0 that evening. Shamit Shome set the ball rolling with his only Impact goal to date, and Jackson-Hamel sealed the deal with a brace in the last 5 minutes.

Other players with multiple goalscoring substitute appearances are;

3 - Dominic Oduro, Matteo Mancosu
2 - Sanna Nyassi, Marco Di Vaio, Blake Smith, Maxim Tissot and Andres Romero.


Season with most goalscoring subs -

The first-ever play-off qualifying season of 2013 saw seven players emerge from the bench to score in an MLS match (the record) - As well as Blake Smith who managed the feat twice, there was Marco Di Vaio, Patrice Bernier, Felipe Martins, Andrea Pisanu and Maxim Tissot.


Most non-goalscoring substitute introductions -

This record is also claimed by Anthony Jackson-Hamel, who failed to score in 46 of his 52 substitute appearances. To be fair to the striker, of course many of these were short introductions in the closing minutes of games.

Patrice Bernier did not score in 38 of his 39 sub appearances, and Andrew Wenger drew a blank on 32 occasions. The player who appeared most as a substitute without scoring in any of his substitute appearances was Calum Mallace - he of THAT PASS. Calum emerged 29 times from the bench.

Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Opponent which has suffered most at the hands of the Impact bench -

Philadelphia Union takes the prize here, with seven goals conceded in six matches when Impact subs have emerged from the bench to score. New England and Chicago Fire on 5 each are a close 2nd.

Of the Western Conference sides, it’s happened twice against three clubs; Sporting Kansas City, Portland Timbers and Houston Dynamo.

So... there you go... not overly important, just a little fun with numbers and goalscoring subs in what feels like a peculiar midweek without an Impact game to watch. Still it means we didn’t lose!

Hopefully some of the names from past Impact squads will evoke fond memories...