MONTREAL –- As far as statement games go, this one was pretty emphatic from the Montreal Impact –- and the rest of Major League Soccer better be paying close attention.
Marco Di Vaio bagged a pair of goals and Justin Mapp and Felipe played the role of providers with two assists each as the Impact cruised to a 5-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo Saturday night.
The win before 20,801 spectators at Stade Saputo lifted the Impact (12-7-5) from third into first place in MLS’s Eastern Conference with 41 points. New York (39 points), tied for second with Kansas City, plays on Sunday. Montreal also opened up a comfy seven-point advantage over Chicago, who is chasing the fifth and final playoff spot in the East.
Di Vaio’s two goals put him on 15 for the campaign, tops in the MLS scoring race, and solidified his candidacy for league MVP honours.
More importantly, the comprehensive victory breathed new life into an Impact side that had just two wins in their previous nine MLS outings, and was coming off a midweek loss to Guatemalan squad CD Heredia in the CONCACAF Champions League.
If anyone was questioning Montreal’s credentials, surely those doubts will have been erased after this performance, which was easily the Impact’s best this season. Dangerous in attack and uncompromising in defence, Montreal showed why they are poised to qualify for the playoffs in only their second MLS campaign.
Di Vaio explained this win not only sent a message to other teams around the league, but also to the Impact, themselves.
“For me, the message was for us. We saw tonight that we can play like this (on a consistent basis) and now we have to try to play like this with the same mentality and the same concentration,” Di Vaio stated.
The Impact were without coach Marco Schallibaum, who was suspended after getting into a confrontation with opposing manager Ben Olsen in last week’s win over D.C. United. Assistant Mauro Biello took charge of Montreal against Houston.
Under Biello, the Impact looked incredibly fluid in their ball movement, catching Houston off-guard with their quickness and slick passing game.
“When you’re able to have variations in your game, especially going forward, it makes it difficult for the other team. Today we saw a good counterattacking game, but also a game of solid possession, and they weren’t able to break us down,” Biello offered.
Despite an early scare, this one was all Montreal.
Houston’s Will Bruin squandered a glorious scoring chance in the sixth minute as the Impact defence scrambled to clear the danger and bail out goalkeeper Troy Perkins who prematurely rushed off his line.
Montreal quickly wrestled control of the contest away from their opponents, with the attacking trio of Di Vaio, Felipe and Mapp causing Houston’s defence all kinds of problems with their interchanging. The Impact’s Patrice Bernier and Hernan Bernardello effectively pulled the strings in the centre of the park, forcing the Dynamo to chase shadows, while providing a platform for the front three.
“Knowing that those two (Bernier and Bernardello) are behind you in the midfield, they give us a lot of freedom going forward,” Mapp said.
Mapp hit the crossbar with a thunderous shot from distance that beat Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall, and then blasted a shot wide of the net after being played into a dangerous scoring position by Felipe.
Mapp redeemed himself in the 35th minute, making a dashing run down the right and delivering a defence-splitting pass for Di Vaio, who converted with a sublime finish.
The Dynamo were reeling, and two minutes later they were down 2-0 off a broken play. Mapp astutely switched the point of attack from the right to left side with a high ball across the box. Houston’s defence didn’t close Felipe down, and the Brazilian fired a gorgeous curling shot inside the far post past a helpless Hall.
“I think he’s probably been our most consistent performer all year. Every time he gets the ball, he makes something happen,” Biello said of Mapp.
Perkins came up big in the opening minutes of the second half, denying Bruin with a fantastic save from in close to maintain Montreal’s momentum.
Felipe and Di Vaio forced back-to-back stops from Hall in the 52nd minute, but the Houston goalkeeper couldn’t do anything moments later when Impact defender Jeb Brovsky scored off a corner kick whipped into the box.
It got worse for Houston.
Felipe’s through ball caught the Dynamo defence flat-footed, and Bernier and Di Vaio broke in on goal. With Hall at his mercy, Bernier shifted the ball over to the Italian who scored into an empty net with 20 minutes left in regulation.
Substitute Andrea Pisanu completed the rout in injury time with his first goal of the season, beating Hall with a low drive from inside the penalty area on a setup from Felipe.
NOTES: Several former Impact players, including Paolo Ceccarelli and Grant Needham, were honoured during a special pre-game ceremony on the field involving Montreal owner Joey Saputo… Montreal returns to action next Saturday when it visits the Philadelphia Union. Schallibaum will be suspended for that game, too… The Dynamo and Impact will meet for a third and final time this season on Oct. 4 in Houston… Montreal leads the all-time series against Houston with three wins and one draw in five meetings. The Impact have won all three contests against the Dynamo in Montreal.
