The Montreal Impact (0-3-3) are still without a win in MLS, but what’s worse is that they seem to lack an identity.
The Impact were all over the place on Saturday in a 1-1 draw at home against the Chicago Fire and were probably fortunate to get something out of the game.
Here are the positives and negatives.
Negative: Tactical choices nearly prove fatal
With coach Frank Klopas wanting to pair Jack McInerney with Marco Di Vaio in attack, but also keep attacking midfielder Felipe in the lineup, the Impact started with a diamond midfield in a 4-4-2. Felipe played in the more advanced position behind the two strikers and Collen Warner played a deeper role in front of the defence. The Impact almost paid dearly for this setup as Chicago swarmed the centre of midfield and controlled the game in the first half. The visitors were unlucky not to have been leading at halftime and Klopas had to immediately change his team’s shape to start the second half.
“I felt that we lost the midfield and we had to make some changes to start the second half and then it got a little bit better,” Klopas said in the post-game press conference.
Positive: Karl Ouimette shines
Karl Ouimette hasn’t played very much for the Impact ever since he made the jump from the club’s youth academy in 2012. Developed into a centre-back, Ouimette started three games in central defence for the Impact at the beginning of last season, but after committing critical errors in each of those appearances (mostly due to the jitters of playing for the first time in the professional ranks) he was ousted from the lineup for months. Not comfortable with him playing in central defence, the club decided to groom Ouimette into a fullback, which is where he played a few games at the end of the season.
So it was a huge surprise to see Ouimette start in central defence again against Chicago on Saturday after more than a year of not playing in that position, but he fared extremely well. One of the fastest players on the team, he complimented Matteo Ferrari very well, chasing down many balls and breaking up plays.
Klopas said that the 21-year-old performance was the most positive aspect of the game.
“The one good point, I felt, was that this guy Karl had a fantastic game,” Klopas said.
Negative: Bernier not starting again
With the Impact being dominated in midfield, Klopas got Patrice Bernier up off the bench in the first half to begin an early warm-up. Bernier eventually came on to start the second half, but it was the third game in a row where Klopas decided to keep his captain on the bench.
In the post-game press conference, Klopas lamented the fact that the Impact were playing far too many long balls in the first half and failed to keep possession, but having your best passer of the ball on the bench certainly didn’t help. Warner covers a lot of ground, but he can’t be the quarterback in midfield.
The Impact have often looked disjointed this season. There doesn’t seem to be a clear understanding about how this team needs to play and about who needs to play where. The fact that one of the league’s best midfielders is being relegated to the bench just goes to show how Klopas doesn’t have things figured out yet.
He claims Bernier isn’t match fit. If he doesn’t play, he never will be.
Positive: Jack McInerney scores on debut
Trading Andrew Wenger to the Philadelphia Union for Jack McInerney last week paid almost instant dividends on Saturday as McInerney scored the Impact’s only goal of the game in the first half. His strike partnership with Di Vaio could become one of the more lethal duos in the league, but they’ll have to learn not to always be making the same runs.
Negative: Romero continues to struggle
Andres Romero had another difficult game on the left side of midfield and was taken off at halftime. He misplaced many of his passes and made many poor decisions on the ball, often trying to dribble past players in areas where he should be keeping things very simple instead.
The Argentine still looks very much like the player he was last year, and that’s a concern for the Impact as their options in left midfield are limited.
Positive: Playing outside again
Saturday was a beautiful day to be outside for a soccer game, but the Impact were still inside at the stuffy and decrepit Olympic Stadium. Luckily the team will start training outside this week and will play the rest of their homes games outside at Stade Saputo.
It’s been a difficult start to the season for the Impact and playing at the Big O can make things a little more depressing than they already are.