TV can equally be a blessing and a curse. On Saturday, in the 39th minute, it was the former.
One camera set up in BMO Field’s north end picked up the right shot at the right moment. In the background, Felipe was blasting home the goal that would knock Toronto FC out of playoff contention. Behind the play was lurking the man who’d started the move, Patrice Bernier.
As the ball hit twine the camera caught Bernier leaping, pumping his fist. The Montrealer was one step closer to a wish that came true at the end of the game: Montreal tied TFC, 1-1, clinching the fifth playoff spot in the East for Columbus and eliminating their rivals.
“It made it 1-1, and moments earlier, we’d created half-chances that we couldn’t finish,” Bernier told MLSsoccer.com by phone after the game. “Conceding a goal that way, I didn’t think that we deserved to be down. But it felt good to make it 1-1. We knew what it meant. But the game wasn’t over yet.”
The second assist – Andres Romero fed the ball to Felipe – was a just reward for Bernier. For weeks, the hometown boy led the charge for pregame taunting. He started 17 days before kickoff.
Bernier talked the talk, and on Saturday, he walked the walk. On his first start since Aug. 30, he showed no signs of the plantar fasciitis that kept him off the field for so long. Bernier was lively, disciplined and decisive.
“It was a good performance,” Bernier said. “Against Toronto, it’s always special for a Montrealer. It’d been a month since I played. The last game was [with Canada] against Jamaica, here in Toronto, and we won 3-1. It went well, and I'm glad, all the more so given that I’d only returned to training last week.”
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The Impact captain praised the entire team for a fine performance. A complete performance, more importantly, as Montreal are sometimes guilty of easing off late in games. That did not happen on Saturday as they went all the way – even without Heath Pearce and Hassoun Camara, both sent off in the game's final 10 minutes.
“Emotions are let loose sometimes, and you try to control the game, you try to help the referee as well,” Bernier said. “But you can see it goes overboard sometimes, especially in those games. There were a few red cards, but in the end, it didn’t go overboard so much. For me, it was one of the more exciting and emotional games we had against Toronto.”
