MONTREAL – In adverse circumstances, the Impact at least made it a game on Saturday in New England.
Eight Montreal players are currently injured. Midfielder Felipe was suspended. Defender Karl Ouimette stayed in Montreal for personal reasons. Marco Di Vaio, Issey Nakajima-Farran and Ignacio Piatti traveled despite fitness issues.
Then, in the actual game, left back Krzysztof Krol got himself a second yellow card with the score at 2-1 for the Revolution. The score line held until the end. But while the Impact didn’t grab a late equalizer, they didn’t let the Revs widen the gap either.
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“I've never been in a situation like that with the amount of injuries that we had, and even guys that we brought here weren’t 100 percent, Issey, with Marco and Piatti,” head coach Frank Klopas told reporters postgame. “I felt the guys left everything on the field, for sure. And more than anything, we had the young players.”
Klopas gave a first MLS start to two Homegrown Players, forward Anthony Jackson-Hamel – who played on the right wing on Saturday – and midfielder Jeremy Gagnon-Laparé. A third HGP, midfielder Louis Béland-Goyette, made his MLS debut in the 75th minute.
He'd signed a pro deal on Friday.
“The guys took the challenge and, for me, I’m extremely happy for the younger players and the future of those guys with the club here,” Klopas said. “They showed that they have the ability to play in big moments. Sometimes, you throw them in and you see how they react, and it’s great to see that these guys weren’t scared or fazed by anything.
“Obviously, it’s different with Jeremy because he’s played with the national team in international matches, but he’s only [19]. Louis is 18,” Klopas continued. “It’s a bright future for these guys, and I’m really excited about that.”
As for the young players themselves, their competitive mindset took precedence over the excitement of a milestone-filled night.
“I think we were a little bit naïve after scoring the first goal,” Gagnon-Laparé said. “We knew they were going to come back pretty strongly, being at home and not having the start they wanted. … But otherwise, of course, most guys hadn’t played many games together, so it wasn’t such a bad game in the circumstances. But it’s still a loss, so we have to correct those mistakes and get something positive out of it.”
And that doggedness must leave Klopas excited for the future as well.
