MONTREAL – In his 50th cap and first appearance for Canada in 22 months, Patrice Bernier provided quite the assist.
Rather than curling his 31st-minute corner kick – one of four he took in his 45-minute shift Tuesday against Jamaica – into the crowded penalty box, Bernier lobbed it toward David Edgar, who was hidden outside the box. Edgar’s volley took two bounces and made its way past goalkeeper Andre Blake, making Bernier the third Canadian player to pick up an assist in his 50th international, in this case a 3-1 win at BMO Field.
At that moment, many Montreal Impact fans probably asked themselves why have the Impact not scored on a set piece this season?
On Thursday, Bernier joked that Montreal should perhaps steal ideas from Canada head coach Benito Floro, with whom he already enjoys a fine rapport one game into their work relationship.
“I think he’s spent the last few years doing nothing but analysis for UEFA or FIFA,” Bernier told reporters. “He goes pretty in-depth to know which plays goals come from. Set plays are 20 to 30 percent of your season. We [at the Impact] should really be able to improve that and get a few more goals from there.”
Asked about Bernier’s performance, Impact assistant coach Mauro Biello acknowledged on Thursday that his set-play success for Canada could provide some inspiration.
“I think we’ve used Patrice there a couple of times this year,” Biello said. “[Canada] worked on that during the 10 days [in camp], and it worked well for them. Yes, he could be an option for us.”
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Unaware of whether he’ll be on the Impact team that faces New England at Gillette Stadium this Saturday (7:30 pm ET; MLS Live), Bernier has even less of an idea whether he’ll take charge of set pieces in that game.
But there may be another opportunity to play dead balls for Canada.
“At the end of the game,” Bernier said, “[Floro] asked me if I was prepared to come back.”
