By Canadian Press

Impact hope to claw into their way into MLS playoff picture with win at Orlando

Jun 22, 2018 | 11:30 AM

MONTREAL — Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush knows how quickly fortunes can change in Major League Soccer.

Dead last in the Eastern Conference standings just three weeks ago, Montreal is now within striking distance of a playoff spot for the first time this season. A road victory against Orlando City SC on Saturday could propel the Impact to within one point of the red line.

“That’s MLS,” said Bush, the only Impact player remaining from the club’s North American Soccer League days. “It’s been like that every year. It’s the responsibility of guys like myself and guys who have been in this league for a long time to continue to communicate that message that we’re never out of it.

“If you go on a little run, you’re right there, and you’re playing meaningful games in September and October. That’s our intention and our goal going into the next few months.”

The Impact had nine points from their first 13 matches and were 10 points out of the playoff picture at the beginning of June. Now, with two wins from their last three games, Remi Garde’s men are clawing their way out of a challenging situation.

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Montreal (5-11-0) is currently ninth in the East with 15 points.

“It’s not easy to play week in and week out and not get a good result,” said midfielder Ignacio Piatti, who leads the Impact with seven goals. “Mentally it wasn’t good for us. But we’ve been finding ways to win and right now we’re four points from a playoff spot. It’s great for our confidence and the team’s actually gotten much better.”

A defensively sound 1-0 victory at home against FC Dallas on June 2 got the ball rolling. On June 13, the Canadian club put together one of its best performances of the year, a 3-0 win against the same Orlando side they face on Saturday. Piatti scored twice in that game.

“We are starting to get momentum,” said Garde before practice on Thursday. “Hopefully the desire of all the team is to keep that going. The last three or four games, the team spirit is different and everyone is giving more.

“The first part of our season hasn’t met our expectations. The second part of this season is about to get underway and I hope we approach it the way we’ve done the last few weeks.”

Orlando City (6-8-1), losers of six straight league games, are stuck on 19 points and slowly slipping in the standings.

The one-time offensive juggernaut – with natural goal scorers like Dom Dwyer, Justin Meram and Sacha Kljestan – has completely stalled

The Lions have scored just five goals and have been shut out twice over the course of this franchise-worst losing skid. Dwyer has one goal in his last six.

It was after the loss at Saputo Stadium that Orlando fired its coach Jason Kreis. Assistant coach Bobby Murphy has taken over as interim coach while the team looks for a permanent replacement. Murphy made his debut on Wednesday night, a penalty-shootout victory over D.C. United in U.S. Open Cup play.

Because of the coaching change, Bush expects to face an Orlando squad that looks vastly different from the one Montreal beat handily last week.

“When you move on from a coach, guys aren’t necessarily happy about it, but it’s a new beginning,” he said. “They’re a different team. We’re going to have to be ready for everything.”

This is the second and last meeting between the Impact and Orlando this season.

———

MONTREAL (5-11-0) AT ORLANDO (6-8-1)

Saturday, Orlando City Stadium

FAILURE TO LAUNCH: Orlando City has not scored the game’s first goal in eight straight encounters in MLS, dating back to Apr. 21.

HIT THE ROAD: Montreal’s road form has been extremely poor this year. The Impact have lost a league-high eight games away from home. Their only road win this season was on March 31 in Seattle.

FOUR STRAIGHT: The Impact are undefeated in four consecutive games against Orlando (3-0-1). The Lions’ last win over Montreal was on Sept. 7, 2016.

VARGAS OUT: Midfielder Jeisson Vargas will not travel with the team to Orlando. The 20-year-old suffered a knee injury in last week’s victory.

DEFENSIVE DEFICIENCIES: Montreal is still without defenders Zakaria Diallo (Achilles tendon), Kyle Fisher (tibia) and Victor Cabrera (calf).

Kelsey Patterson, The Canadian Press