COLUMBUS, Ohio—Often lauded for their defense, the Montreal Impact allowed a surprising four goals in just 53 minutes against Columbus Crew SC on Saturday, but still clawed their way back from three goals down to salvage a 4-4 draw at MAPFRE Stadium.
After the match, Impact head coach Mauro Biello praised his team’s response to the early deficit.
“Obviously, being down 4-1 on the road against a good team, to come back and score (three) goals tells me a lot about my team and our character and the ability we have to score goals,” Biello said. “Today we showed that.”
The game appeared to be a rout after Columbus playmaker Federico Higuain scored a penalty kick in the 53rd minute to make the game 4-1. But Montreal got their own penalty kick four minutes later, and Didier Drogba converted to create some optimism.
“We got the second goal and the game was wide open,” Biello said. “It kind of worked for us, because we have players who can unbalance [opposing teams]. The more space they got, the more they could do their work. It worked out for us.
"We were able to find the spaces out wide and get isolated 1-on-1 and from there, we created chances and great goals.”
Ignacio Piatti polished off a spectacular brace just a minute after Drogba, setting up a nervy last half-hour for Columbus. Still, Crew SC seemed like they were going to hold on to the three points.
… until a goal from former Crew SC striker Dominic Oduro leveled the match three minutes into stoppage time.
“It was extraordinary to be a part of, being down 4-1 and coming back 4-4,” Biello said. “It was great for the fans, great for our fans.”
But Biello wasn’t only focusing on the road point: Montreal are now winless in four matches, and he admitted his defense needs work. The coach said his team has “got to make sure we don’t give away goals.”
He added: “It’s not just the defenders. It’s the whole group and how we defend and how we work together. For us, going forward, we have to improve on that.”
