Entering Saturday afternoon's match against Eastern Conference rivals Columbus Crew SC, the Montreal Impact were coming off two shutout losses.
Who better to resolve the club's scoring woes than two of the unlikeliest heroes in right back Hassoun Camara and central midfielder Kyle Bekker, who had a combined six MLS goals to their names in 134 total appearances.
The opener by Camara – a header on a corner kick by Lucas Ontivero – was especially timely in the eyes of Montreal head coach Mauro Biello.
"During the first 30 minutes, we did well and were patient enough to destabilize them [Crew SC]," Biello said. "After not scoring [in the opening stages of the match], the momentum changed a bit at the end of first half … I think we held strong and in the second half, we had our scoring chances with an excellent goal from Hassoun."
The goal was an uplifting moment for Camara, who continues to progress after succumbing to a series of injuries in 2015 which limited him to just nine appearances last season. He made his third straight start on Saturday and lasted 72 minutes before being replaced by Ambroise Oyongo.
"It was a difficult season [physically] for me last year," Camara said. "But I always had the desire to come back and work to find my best level … I am progressing game after game.
"My first game at Dallas was more to find out where I was at, but it was difficult. By believing in myself and the team, I know that I can do good things for the team. I am confident in myself and the coach has confidence in me."
As for Bekker, acquired last July from FC Dallas and starting his second consecutive game alongside Eric Alexander, he scored off a header from an Oyongo cross to cap off a counterattack. It also capped a performance that was met with approval from the Canadian international head coach.
"It’s been two games that he has been playing very well." Biello said. "He has been very good with Eric Alexander …;He does his job and was rewarded with the insurance goal at the end."
The 2-0 result means the Impact are now top of the Eastern Conference on goal differential, but they're not getting carried away with 29 matches left to play. The good news is that they expect to get star forward Didier Drogba back – possibly as early as next week when they play on the grass surface of Toyota Park vs. Chicago Fire (Saturday, April 16 at 5 pm ET on MLS LIVE).
"I think we still have a lot of things to work on," Biello said. "It’s a long season. I feel that we still need to grow as a team. It’s early right now in the season, but there have been a lot of positives with our play … with some unfortunate losses on the road. It’s about learning, it’s about growing and there is a lot of time for that."
