

Posted by

Kamal Hylton ,

May 15, 2014 Email

Kamal Hylton

On Twitter:

@KamalHylton

First Thoughts

Montreal come into this match with a mixed bag of results, as their league form continues to slide after suffering their second heavy defeat of the season to the Eastern Conference leaders and defending MLS Cup champions, Sporting Kansas City, 3-0 last time out after losing 4-0 earlier in the season. However, the Impact did bounce back in the Canadian Championship tie against FC Edmonton on Wednesday night, overcoming a 2-1 first leg deficit at Clark Stadium to win 4-2 at Stade Saputo and advance to the Voyageurs Cup final in a wild night of cup football.



It took a Patrice Bernier penalty kick in the 97th minute of stoppage time to see Montreal advance to the final where they will take on hated rivals Toronto FC. However, for now the focus will be on reversing poor league form when they travel to the U.S. capitol and RFK Stadium to take on D.C. United.



Keep Thinking

D.C. currently sit third in the Eastern Conference standings and after an offseason of hype surrounding the club’s moves (Gaffer & Hooligan podcast contributing to that in the Eastern Conference preview podcast) the club have settled down and picked up after a slow start to the season.



While much of the fan fair and media attention was focused on the big money move of U.S. Men's National Team forward Eddie Johnson from Seattle Sounder to the nation’s capitol, he has been completely ineffective as a goal scorer. To this point in the season he has a grand total of zero goals. The main influence up front has been another signing that took place in the offseason. Argentine forward Fabian Espindola currently has 4 goals on the season and has been thriving with D.C. United since seeing his time end with the New York Red Bulls.



Although a lot of the focus will be on the goal threat leading the line for both teams, the side story to this match comes in the midfield, where the Impact will go up against an old friend and former captain in Davey Arnaud. In this system under Ben Olsen, Arnaud has more freedom to join attacks and help expose opposition defenses, as was evident in how the winning goal was scored against Philadelphia in the match that ended 1-0.



Tactically, Montreal play a 4-2-3-1, a formation that has seen Patrice Bernier and Collen Warner partner each other in central midfield as of late. However, with Warner suspended after picking up a red card against Sporting KC, it could see a return to the partnership of Bernier with Argentine DP Hernan Bernardello, a pairing that has shown a lot of promise since the two came together last season. The main responsibilities for these two will be forcing turnovers, springing attacks and breaking up play, all in an attempt to disrupt the rhythm that D.C. United are looking to play at.



On the other side, this role will fall to Perry Kitchen, one of the more underrated players within MLS at what he does. Kitchen will almost directly be responsible for tracking Montreal's playmaker in Felipe. When the Brazilian is on his game, making runs and working off the ball, he's tough to handle and could prove a test for the D.C defensive unit.



Final Thoughts

At the foot of not only the Eastern Conference standings but the entire MLS table, only amassing six points on the season and recording a solitary win makes for grim reading for any Montreal Impact fan. However, the season is still young and the important stretch of games over the summer and during a World Cup year will be fast approaching.



The key will be turning some of these draws into wins and staying disciplined defensively, particularly the central defensive pairing of usually Matteo Ferrari and Karl Ouimette, both of whom have been burned on a few occasions leaving the defense exposed.



This has the makings of a close game that Montreal could get three points from, but it's hard to deny how much D.C. United have got better and began to gel even without Eddie Johnson performing where expected. With the game at RFK Stadium it's going to be tight. The Impact will set up defensively and look for counters through the likes of Felipe and Justin Mapp.



Prediction

Montreal Impact 1-2 D.C. United