After the whistle blew, Frank Klopas walked over to Marco Di Vaio and gave him a warm hug.
With a little more than ten minutes to go in Saturday’s clash with the Philadelphia Union and with the Impact down a goal and a man, Klopas’ side seemed destined for a dire fourth consecutive defeat to start the season. But in his first game back from suspension, Di Vaio came to the rescue, just like he so often did last year, with a beautifully delivered strike which bent inside the top corner of the goal.
The Impact would then manage to hold on to the 1-1 draw and escape Philadelphia with a point, a result which will help restore some much needed confidence after a difficult start to the campaign.
Here are the negatives and positives
Positive: Warner offers balance
Dropping captain Patrice Bernier in favour of Collen Warner in the middle of the Impact’s 4-2-3-1 formation was a bold decision from Klopas, but one that ultimately paid dividends. Warner had one of the better performances on the day. He’s not especially technical or flashy, but Warner’s superior work rate and ability to break up opposition teams’ plays in midfield is an important asset to have, especially on the road where the Impact tend to lack balance and become overwhelmed in midfield.
But don’t expect Bernier to be excluded for very long; Jesse Marsch’s initial preference for Warner in the Impact’s inaugural season in MLS was one of the reasons why the erstwhile coach was eventually fired.
Negative: New inclusions show rustiness
Heath Pearce, Andres Romero and Di Vaio all received their first starts of the season in Philadelphia, but none of them really looked at the top of their game in what was probably a case of a little rustiness.
Starting on the left-hand side of defence, Pearce gave away the ball several times in bad areas, including on the Union’s first-half goal, and looked very slow throughout the match. The few times he got forward his crosses were way off target.
After a disappointing first campaign with Montreal, Romero has a lot to prove this year on the left-hand side of midfield. It wasn’t a great start for him on Saturday as he failed to have much of an impact, often drifting out of the game. Luckily for Romero, Montreal doesn’t really possess any better alternatives; that is until Ignacio Piatti arrives this summer, which at this point seems likely.
With a little more game shape, Di Vaio might very well have banged in two or three goals with the chances he had throughout the game, but he clearly lacked match sharpness in his first game back. The Italian does, however, deserve a lot of credit for pushing himself right up until the end and finding the all-important equalizer.
Positive: Perkins steady in goal
The Impact were able to come out of Saturday’s game with a point, and Troy Perkins’ solid display in goal was one of the big reasons for it. The 32-year-old made several important saves and provided a commanding presence in his area with many crosses plucked well out of the air.
Negative: Felipe struggling between the lines
By now, in his third season in MLS, teams around the league know Felipe very well; they know his qualities and how he likes to move. So it’s becoming more and more difficult for the Brazilian playmaker to effectively navigate his way between opposition defences and midfield lines. All it seems to take to neutralize Felipe is to have a tactically savvy and physically imposing midfielder to keep an eye on him; last week, it was Seattle’s Osvaldo Alonso and on Saturday it was Maurice Edu.
He’s going to have to vary up his game a little.
Positive: Favorable schedule
Four of the next five games will be at home for the Impact, which gives them a great opportunity to get their season on track. Making home-field a fortress again will be fundamental.
Negative: Lack of forward options
The lack of attacking alternatives is a very troubling concern for the Impact. Andrew Wenger just doesn’t seem to possess the quality to play up front and new signing Santiago Gonzalez doesn’t look like he offers much.
Montreal’s heavy reliance on Di Vaio producing the goals for them is palpable. If the ageless Roman doesn’t score, then who will? If he can’t carry the Impact again once more, then they’re in trouble.
Nick Sabetti is a Montreal-based writer. Follow him on Twitter.