HARRISON, N.J. – The Montreal Impact were not favored against surging D.C. United. They were not favored against the red-hot New York Red Bulls. Barring any unforeseen circumstance, they surely will not be favored against Toronto FC.
That is just fine with them.
The Impact reached the Eastern Conference Championship on Sunday by seeing off the New York Red Bulls with a 2-1 win at Red Bull Arena that gave Montreal a 3-1 aggregate victory. The outcome of the second leg and this Eastern Conference Semifinals series was not one many observers had expected, but being overlooked – not just in this semifinal matchup, but throughout the playoffs – has provided Montreal with a vital commodity: motivation.
“[Head coach Mauro Biello] brought it up a bit,” said Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush, who made a huge penalty kick save on Sacha Kljestan in the first half on Sunday. “ESPN does their projections about not necessarily who’s going to win and who’s not going to win, but I think we were given a six percent chance to win MLS Cup and New York was the top team with the 20 percent chance.
“We were aware of it and there’s always something you need that can spark that emotion in you.”
Using those perceived snubs as fuel for their fire, the Impact throttled D.C. United in the Knockout Round before frustrating and ultimately outperforming the Red Bulls. Sure, New York had the better of possession and chances during the course of their 180 minutes of action, but Montreal’s counterattacking gameplan worked nearly to perfection.
They combined goals on the break from Matteo Mancosu and Ignacio Piatti with organized and disciplined defending, which was made all the more impressive by the Impact’s ability to close down space, get physical and largely negate MLS MVP candidates Kljestan and Bradley Wright-Phillips.
“We were able to close down the middle,” said Impact head coach Mauro Biello. “We thought if we’d closed down the middle, it would be hard for them. They’d have to go around us, and, in the end, I think we frustrated them by doing so.
“I think one of the things we wanted to exploit was to take advantage of our speed against their defense,” Biello added. “They like to push the fullbacks up and leave their centerbacks in the back with Dax [McCarty], and we wanted to take advantage of that on the break, and we did in today’s game.”
Montreal knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were the ones moving on after the second of Piatti’s two goals on Sunday. The strike came in the 85th minute after some good work from Didier Drogba, who entered the game as a second-half substitute to play in his first match for the Impact since having a dispute with Biello back in mid-October.
Much has been made about that quarrel over Drogba’s role with the club, but some good has come from it.
“Maybe it gave guys a little bit more confidence of what the staff though about us in not having to start him,” said Bush. “But we also knew all along it was more important to get him involved – whether it’s coming of the bench, starting, whatever it might be – because he’s a guy that’s invaluable when he’s on the field.
“It’s not only the goal-scoring and the offensive stuff. It’s closing out games, taking balls down, letting us breathe, things like that. Things that don’t go into the statsheet or scoresheet.”
Drogba and the Impact will now have some time to rest their legs after a busy week and a half in which they've played three times. The international break will give Montreal two weeks to rest up and recover before taking on 401 Derby archrivals Toronto FC for a spot in the MLS Cup final. The Eastern Conference Championship kicks off at Stade Olympique on Tuesday, Nov. 22 (8 pm ET, ESPN, TSN).
The Impact will not be the favorites to advance, of course, but that will not faze them one bit.
“We’re not done yet,” said veteran midfielder Patrice Bernier. “The strongest part of this team is its mental approach, its character.”
