Chicago Fizzle Visit Montreal
This is a very late write up the game at the Stade Olympique on Saturday past, March 17 2012. Montreal Impact and 58 912 (fifty eight thousand nine hundred and twelve) fans welcomed the Chicago Fire to our great city.
We, the Ahmed and Ingarman entourage, got there a bit too early and had to scour the local landscape for breakfast. We settled for some Tim Hortons inside a gas station a few blocks over. On the way back we were hounded by both the paper press and local TV news. It was a great way to begin the day.
Inside the stadium, fans were everywhere. Boutiques and stalls were packed, however it was difficult to decide whether lines were there because of general interest or... goblins. You see, the club hadn't actually been prepared to process the massive amount of transactions that over 58 thousand people might demand. Systems looked to be fine when one of my friends bought himself a hat at noon, kick off was at 2:00 pm. However, there were at least two separate reports of dysfunctional point of sale cashiers that were forced to accept cash only. I came across of both on these incidents through casual conversation, so it's very possible that every other boutique in the establish ran perfectly. I doubt it though, and I'm fairly certain that busted point of sale systems had more to do with the clusters of people around boutiques then their genuine interest of buying merch.
Let me just say, Montreal played very well. Marsch's 4-4-2 worked perfectly. Bernier dropping deep, Felipe moving all around the central zone, Montreal moved the ball at their tempo. Chicago attacked almost exclusively on the counter, and it almost worked for them as soon as 45 seconds into the game when a misplaced Bernier pass almost brought us back to Vancouver. After the initial hiccup though, Montreal settled well.
Braun, who I didn't recognize from his anonymous field trip to Vancouver, had a great first half. His control from high balls and good use of channels always gave our midfield somewhere else to run up to.
Nyassi worked hard as a forward, pushing the Chicago back four deep with his space and always finding pockets of room by the corners.
Mapp was good. I honestly didn't feel his positioning against Vancouver, but on Saturday, everything he did made sense. Sadly he didn't have the chance to finish the game, and in hindsight Montreal should've gotten a goal with Mapp on. Clever control and quick releases on the wings, Mapp allowed Braun and Gardner real estate to do damage on the right and made their runs look easy. Gardner by the way, took that beautiful 40 yard rocket that bounced off the cross bar in extra time, what a winner that would've been!
Second half, Montreal didn't play as well, but earned a solid goal after changing formation. Braun led the line alone and Montreal moved to a 4-2-3-1 with Nyassi and Mapp on either flank and Arnaud in the pocket.
Felipe drove from deep, layed off for Nyassi who delivered a solid cross into the marauding Arnaud who's run from midfield wasn't tracked by the Chicago midfield. A perfectly timed run, and a well placed header. Arnaud, our captain, first goals for Montreal in the MLS.
The stadium erupted at this point. If you weren't among the 58 thousand there, you won't know what it was like. One of my friends legitimately busted his knee by smashing it against the seat in front of him in celebrations. He now regrets it.
The honey moon looked to last forever, but after scoring Montreal lost control of the game. Little by little, until eventually the Impact conceded. Grazzini turned on the edge of the box after receiving a pass from out wide and got a ball in behind the defence where Oduro crept in behind Wahl to get the Chicago equalizer. Grazzini might've taken a shot, but it ended up becoming a weak chipped cross into a dangerous zone. Wahl didn't see the danger and Ricketts didn't get out fast enough. An all together soft goal that ruined a great result.
2nd goal from individual errors that lead to goals in two games. A fairly alarming statistic and in light of our lack of teeth in attack it's especially important that we stay clean in back. Good news is that Rivas has yet to play and he should, if what I remember him from Inter and FIFA 10 is correct, should be able to move into our starting line up right away.
