The Beacon, Binks

The squeaky clean tackle late on in the game on Daryl Dike as Orlando broke forward probably underlined it; Luis Binks was Montreal’s best performer on a night which won’t quickly be forgotten, for all the wrong reasons.

The 18-year-old stood out like a beacon as team-mates all around floundered against the purple tide.

Here was one Impact player who provided a winning performance in a badly beaten team.

The English youngster, a graduate of Tottenham Hotspur, spoke the day before the game how much he preferred playing in a back four rather than a back three. Then he went out last evening and proved his point.

Too often the Impact goal against Orlando lived a charmed life, but on other occasions further damage would have been inevitable only for Binks’ interventions. He along with Orlando’s profligate finishing were the main reasons why a mis-match of a game reached the hour mark scoreless.

Montreal are lucky to have him. In these days of much foreign recruitment in English Premier League football, Binks saw his opportunities too far into the future , and opted to leave home shores to improve himself in another country. Although he could have gone elsewhere, Canada became his chosen destination.

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

But how good is the young man? Does he have the right calibre to to step up from MLS and win playing time with a top European club or even win full international caps for his country to add to those already won in youth football?

Who better to ask than his central defensive partner, Rod Fanni, himself an experienced international player.

“Binks? He plays well. A good player who came from a great club, Tottenham Hotspur. We all know that young England national teams have very good players and Luis came from there too.

“I’m very happy to play with him because he listens a lot. He wants to progress. When I speak with him all the time he is open to progress and that’s why it is a pleasure for me to partner him.

“I hope in the future he will be a very, very great player.”

The admiration between the central defenders is mutual. Binks has also gone on record stating that Fanni is someone who helps with his game on a daily basis.

A keen student of the game whose single-mindedness, designed towards continual improvement and development, may take him far, Binks appreciates the opportunity presented by learning from someone of Fanni’s stature.

“He’s been at the top level, played for his country, played in Ligue Un for a very long time, he’s someone who helps me daily.

“His experience makes it easier for me through positioning and talking [during a game]. I can learn a lot from Rod.”

Luis Binks will have many fans back in Montreal wherever his footballing successes eventually take him, but those fans will be hoping that ‘eventually’ is far enough around the corner for them to enjoy regularly watching him run out at Stade Saputo first.