The Montreal Impact finally fought through their extended bout of gloom and doom on Saturday, defeating the Houston Dynamo 1-0 at Stade Saputo thanks to a glorious first-half strike from Jeisson Vargas.
A mostly wide-open, end-to-end affair, the match featured plenty of promising looks at goal for both sides, but little in the way of sharp finishing – aside from Vargas' clinical blast. Receiving a pass from Samuel Piette on the half-turn at the top of Houston's penalty box on the stroke of haltime, the young Chilean arrowed a dipping missile into the top corner of the net to bag all three points.
The victory, only the fourth of the season for the Quebec club and just their second since the start of April, ends a four-game losing skid for the hosts. Meanwhile, the result caps a woeful week for the Dynamo, who conceded a late winner to lose 2-1 at Real Salt Lake on Wednesday, a long road trip that prompted coach Wilmer Cabrera to make several changes to his starting lineup.
Cabrera brought regulars Romell Quioto, Mauro Manotas and Tomas Martinez off the bench in pursuit of a late rally, and while they raised the Orange's tempo, none could find the necessary breakthrough.
Goals:
- 44' – MTL – Jeisson Vargas | WATCH
Three Things:
- THE BIG PICTURE: Credit is due to the Impact for digging out a home win to lift spirits after weeks of struggle and second-guessing around the club. The Dynamo – who remain a Jekyl-and-Hyde squad at home vs. on the road – will be kicking themselves after allowing the league's coldest team to knock them off in this fashion, however.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: No surprises here – Vargas' stunner decided the game and provided the most beautiful sequence on this Montreal summer night.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: This, too, is a no-brainer. Jeisson Vargas not only scored, but missed just one pass all evening.
Up Next:
- impact: Saturday, June 9 at FC Dallas (10:30 pm ET | TVAS - Full TV and streaming info)
- Dynamo: U.S. Open Cup — Wednesday, June 6 vs. NTX Rayados (8:30 pm ET)
