This time it was with one match to spare and with a sense of command that the Montreal Impact clinched a spot in the MLS playoffs, as Ignacio Piatti scored one of the goals of the season Saturday in a 1-0 win over the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium.

In 2013, when the Impact made the playoffs for the first time in their sophomore MLS campaign, the manner in which they ended the year was anything but convincing. By the end, the season had spiraled out of control: the team was in tatters physically, mentally and tactically; and after making the post-season through the back door (with help from the results of other teams on the last day) they were easily swept aside in the opening playoff round.

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It was only two months ago that it seemed like the Impact were beginning to break apart in much the same way. More telling than the fact that team was losing games at home was the players’ evident loss of belief.

Laurent Ciman, the leading contender for the league’s defender of the year award, was the most critical, saying famously, “We don’t have any philosophy.”

The subsequent removal of Frank Klopas as coach and the inclusion of Ivorian striker Didier Drogba would, however, revitalize the squad and completely change the trajectory of the season.

Interim coach Mauro Biello has helped give the Impact greater tactical flexibility with the introduction of a few new tactical deployments such as the 4-3-3 or the 4-1-4-1. Moreover, the Impact have looked significantly more attentive and organized defensively with shorter spacing between the lines and players. It used to be that without Ciman the Impact were hopeless at the back, but even without him Montrel managed to keep clean sheets away to the L.A Galaxy and New England.

Drogba’s arrival has had the greatest effect, bolstering an attack which had been struggling to threaten. The former Chelsea star has scored nine goals in 10 games for the Impact, and without those tallies it’s unlikely that the team would have made the post-season, especially with Orlando’s current five-game winning streak.

Goals aside, the Ivorian’s wholehearted and lively presence has also been a tremendously positive influence inside the Montreal locker room and has the players believing again.

“We’ve worked really hard; we’ve come a long way,” Drogba said after the New England win. “There’s a really great team spirit and I’m really happy about that.”

Going into Saturday’s game, the greatest talking point was that the Impact were perhaps becoming overly reliant on Drogba’s heroics and that other players needed to step up as well. That it was Piatti, who has been struggling for a few months now, who came to rescue against the Revolution with a sublime solo effort, made the win all that much better for the Impact. If the Argentine can return to his best form in time for the playoffs, the Impact will be menacing for any side.

If there’s one weakness with this Impact side, and which is probably beyond fixing at this point in the season, it’s that they struggle with teams that press high and play at a quick tempo. This was evident in the opening 30 minutes against New England, a game which, with its intensity and 40,000 fans in attendance, felt like a playoff encounter, the Impact struggled to maintain possession or play through pressure in transition.

But still, they didn’t concede and managed to keep their shape intact, an indication that this team, come playoff time, isn’t going to be overcome very easily, not like the last time around.

Nick Sabetti is a Montreal-based writer. Follow him on Twitter