On Sunday night our very own Gregory Caltabanis went to Saputo Stadium to cover the Montreal Impact’s game against the Columbus Crew and got to speak to Marco Donadel.
After beating Sebastian Giovinco and Toronto FC rather easily, the Montreal Impact then turned their attention to the Columbus Crew. The Crew had one of their best seasons in recent memory and finished second in the Eastern Conference led by the league’s joint top goalscorer, Kei Kamara and Federico Higuain, not to be mistaken with his brother Gonzalo. The Montreal faithful showed up in numbers to support their team and, for the second time in four days, turned Saputo Stadium into a fortress.
These were the Montreal ultras before kickoff:
#IMFC ultras in full voice. Game is set to kick off in the next twenty minutes. http://pic.twitter.com/jOSnd4ZVqJ
— Gregory Caltabanis (@GCaltabanis) November 1, 2015
When the game kicked off it was Columbus who dominated early possession. Considering this was the Impact’s third game in eight days, this was to be expected. Despite their early dominance, it was the Impact who find the back of the net through Didier Drogba. The goal, however, was ruled back as the referee believed that the Ivorian fouled the defender on his path to goal. After the game, Mauro Biello, the Impact manager, said the call was a “soft one.” The disallowed goal appeared to have given wind to Columbus’ sails and propelled them forward. In the thirty third minute, Federico Higuain would score the go-ahead goal after volleying Drogba’s poor headed clearance past a helpless Evan Bush. Following the goal, the Impact would push on and eventually find the equalizer in the 37th minute through a Marco Donadel corner. The former Napoli man swung in a lovely, in-swinging ball and the Impact captain, Patrice Bernier, met it with a towering header. Just like that, the score was once again level.
In the second half, Mauro Biello’s side seemed unhappy with the result and pressed Columbus hard. For the majority of the second half, the Impact were the better side. That said, it was only in the 77th minute that they made their dominance felt on the scoreboard. Johan Venegas, who had come on four minutes ago for Bernier, stole the ball from Michael Parkhurst and went through on a two on one with Drogba. Instead of squaring it to the former Chelsea man, the midfielder slotted it home past Steve Clark giving the Impact the crucial lead going into the second leg of the Eastern Conference semi-finals. With a bit of time left to play, Drogba almost got on the scoresheet himself with a well-hit free kick.
Drogue almost erupts the Saputo Stadium:
So close from King Didier. #IMFC http://pic.twitter.com/H5RnVgtJjw
— Gregory Caltabanis (@GCaltabanis) November 2, 2015
A feature of the Impact’s recent success has been their commitment to playing good defence. As Mauro Biello put it in his post-game press conference, “They can have the ball but if they don’t penetrate us, that means we have played a very solid game.” While Laurent Ciman has been immense at the back for the Impact thus far , the play of Marco Donadel in front of the defence cannot be overstated. The Italian midfielder plays a crucial role in breaking up the opposition’s attacks as well as spreading the ball out quickly. Last night, and for the majority of this season, Donadel has acted as the Impact’s regista and has enjoyed success in this role. Against Columbus, the 32-year-old completed more passes than any of his teammates (36), including two key passes. In addition to this, Donadel registered an assist and made two interceptions highlighting his defensive awareness. If the Impact are to continue their impressive run of form, the Treviso native’s play will be of the utmost importance.
Going into next week’s game, Donadel confessed in a post-match interview that he knows that it won’t be easy. In any case, the Montreal Impact under Mauro Biello have proven to be more than up for a challenge. Should they win or draw next Sunday in Columbus, they will find themselves in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in the club’s history. After getting two wins at home against Toronto and Columbus, there progression will now depend on their ability to get it done away from Saputo Stadium. With veteran presences like Didier Drogba and Marco Donadel in the side, you wouldn’t put it past them to go through.
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