Mar 6, 2015
Impact join the annals of Montreal sporting folklore
Just like other defining moments in sport, over the coming years you can be guaranteed considerably more than the 38,104 who were at Olympic Stadium Tuesday night will lay claim to attending the Impact’s CONCACAF Champions League quarter-final second leg. You can bet not a single one of them will admit to sneaking out after Pachuca had taken the lead very late on.
By Noel Butler
Just like other defining moments in sport, over the coming years you can be guaranteed considerably more than the 38,104 who were at Olympic Stadium Tuesday night will lay claim to attending the Impact’s CONCACAF Champions League quarter-final second leg. You can bet not a single one of them will admit to sneaking out after Pachuca had taken the lead very late on.
After Cano had sneaked his penalty passed an out stretched Evan Bush with 80 minutes on the clock, Pachuca went into "Football dark arts" mode in their cynical attempt to hold on to their slender advantage. At the 90-minute mark, there seemed to be so many Pachuca players laying prone on the pitch, I thought I’d just walked into a crime scene re-enactment. Then, I realized they had smiles on their faces until that deep into added-time moment when Cameron Porter wiped them clean off.
It all started deep in Impact territory with Donny Toia laying the ball off to Calum Mallace, who ran in to what appeared to be acres of space. Then, just as the midfielder who had replaced Donadel at the 65-minute mark was closing in on the half-way line, he glanced up to see his fellow substitute Porter tracking away from his marker. Opportunity presented, Mallace had but one intention as he hit a sublime 30-yard diagonal ball right into the wheelhouse Porter had run into.
With Pachuca’s Jürgen Damm left firmly rooted on his backside, Porter still had much to do as Herrara attempted to close his angle to goal. The 21-year old third-round draft pick would have absolutely none of it, even with a bouncing ball and Óscar Pérez rushing off his line to contend with. Displaying the precision and audacity we’ve come to expect of Pirlo, Porter nonchalantly nutmegged the Pachuca goalkeeper.
Net rippled, the entire stadium erupted. Such were the decibel levels a wall of Olympic Stadium sound reverberated all around. If the Habs had been playing at home, some two odd miles to the west, fans in the Bell Centre stands would be forgiven if they thought they had missed the winning goal from the seventh game of the Stanley Cup Finals.
How the celebration would have sounded to all those who mistakenly decided to leave Olympic Stadium ahead of the final whistle, only they know, I’m sure a few have already booked appointments with their therapists.
Securing a semi-final berth in the CONCACACF Champions League and, with it, a one-in-four chance of participating in December’s FIFA Club World Cup is one thing, but how to quantify a goal of that magnitude where we were barely seconds away from the referee blowing the whistle on the Impact’s Champions League campaign. There goes my thinking the Oscars were last month.
It is a pointless exercise attempting to compare Porter’s equalizer with other sporting moments. That’s like telling a kid he looks like his mom or dad, when, in fact, the person the kid resembles most is himself.
As the Impact’s bench poured onto the pitch in a show of unbridled joy and euphoria, how about that celebration from Klopas? About time, Frank. I always wondered where the Impact’s gaffer had hidden his passionate and emotional self. That genie is very much out of the bottle now, so no more going back to the folded arms look.
The Klopas One might not have broken the internet Tuesday night, but if Jose Mourinho ever sees that video and those gyrating hips, he’ll be asking for private lessons.
At training Wednesday morning, Impact technical director Adam Braz likened Mallace’s ball to Porter as Beckhamesque. I wonder if Braz meant that legendary goal from the half-way line against Wimbledon back in 1996 or Beckham’s iconic free kick for England against Greece that booked England’s passage to the 2002 World Cup Finals. He might have a point. After all, Mallace is sporting the Beckham slicked-back hairstyle and stubble look these days.
One thing is for sure, Mallace won’t be doing what I witnessed him do last season. Thirty minutes or so after the Impact’s match at Olympic Stadium against the Red Bulls, he strolled alongside the crowd as he and team mate Andrew Wenger made their way towards the exit. Barely anyone recognized them. I somehow doubt that will happen again.
Tuesday night at Olympic Stadium the Montreal Impact proved once more, that no matter how deep the odds are stacked against you - do not ever give up hope.
In the most unimaginable way, the goalposts shifted at Olympic Stadium on March 3. Another name has entered the annals of Montreal sporting folklore. Now, we just have to wait till December 3. No, not for the FIFA Club World Cup to take place, but for proof "Cameron" is amongst the more popular names for a baby boy in Montreal this year.
Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca
@TheSoccerNoel on Twitter
DC United Vs Montreal Impact Live on TSN 690 – Kick Off 3:00pm et / 12:00pm pt [www.TSN690.ca ]