COMMERCE CITY, Colorado – The Montreal Impact continues its push for the playoffs as it will play its third game on the road in just eight days this Saturday night, at 6pm EDT, against the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park (TVA Sports, CJAD 800).
“We have to forget about the last one and focus on the game that’s coming up,” said Impact head coach Mauro Biello. “Obviously, it’s an important game and even though we are in a playoff spot, we have to accumulate points to secure that spot. We were a little disappointed with the way we started our last game and in the end we paid for it. Concentration and focus are keys at the highest level. We are a very good team and we have a lot of quality that will help us rebound and get back on track.”
Following the 2-1 loss to the Red Bulls Wednesday night, the Bleu-blanc-noir remain in 6th place in the Eastern Conference with 42 points and three games to play this season, while Orlando City SC is 7th with 41 points and two games to play.
The Impact continues to be short-staffed due to international call-ups with Anthony Jackson-Hamel, Wandrille Lefèvre and Johan Venegas not available. Marco Donadel will be suspended due to yellow card accumulation, while defender Ambroise Oyongo will be serving a one-game suspension following his red card against the Red Bulls, as he did not travel with Cameroon due to a visa situation. However Maxim Tissot will be an option on Saturday and will rejoin the Canadian national team in Washington on Sunday.
The Impact may be able to count on the return of Ignacio Piatti, who has a full week of training following his absence due to family reasons.
“If we take what we did in the second half in New York, take the spirit that we had and make some adjustments, we will be fine on Saturday,” explained Evan Bush. “It’s a big game and we’ll be excited for it.”
Despite being a solid team defensively with just 38 goals allowed, Colorado sits last in the Western Conference with 34 points from a record of 8-13-10, mostly due to its league worst record of 30 goals for. However, IMFC (12-13-6) has yet to earn a point versus the Rapids in league play (0-3-0), including two losses at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
Colorado’s Kevin Doyle (IRL), Maynor Figueroa (HON) and Gabriel Torres (PAN) and Dillon Serna (US U23) are also all away on international duty.
The Impact will play its final road game of the season against the New England Revolution, at October 17, at 7:30pm EDT (RDS, TSN, CJAD 800). IMFC will conclude its regular season at Stade Saputo on October 25, at 5pm EDT (RDS, TSN, 98,5fm, TSN 690 Radio), against rivals Toronto FC.
