Guest columnist Drew Epperley is the founder and editor of WVHooligan.com. His blog covers everything MLS and U.S. Soccer. You can follow him on Twitter @WVHooligan.
For the second straight week, FC Dallas will host an Eastern Conference foe. Schellas Hyndman and company will get their first crack at Major League Soccer’s newest club, the Montreal Impact.
The Impact (1-4-1, four points) are coming off their first MLS win last week over their Canadian rivals Toronto FC. Sinisa Ubiparipovic and the first overall pick in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft Andrew Wenger found the back of the net for Jesse Marsch’s club.
While the Impact’s overall record may not indicate anything great so far - the expansion club is resembling how their manager used to play during his days with the Chicago Fire and Chivas USA - gritty and always a handful to deal with.
Veteran leadership stepping up
One thing the Impact have going for them is the decent amount of veteran leadership within the club.
Former LA Galaxy keeper Donovan Ricketts has solidified his place between the pipes in Montreal and is finally getting comfortable in front of a new defense. So far this season Ricketts has notched 20 saves, good for second best in MLS.
In the midfield Marsch has a pair of gritty veterans in the form of Davy Arnuad and Justin Mapp. Both came off the bench in their 2-1 win over Toronto and each could be expected to do more on Saturday.
Arnaud scored the club’s first MLS goal against the Chicago Fire a few weeks back and has proven to be the main leader in the locker room for Marsch.
Up front, Justin Braun is looking for his first goal with the Impact. His eight shots are good for fourth-best on the team and given his streaky history with scoring, he is due to bag one before long.
Growing pains all around
Just like any expansion club that has come into MLS, the typical growing pains are happening for the Impact.
In the defense, things are staring to come together. The center back pairing of Matteo Ferrari and Tyson Wahl is slowly starting to pay dividends for the Impact - both were able to clog up the middle of the field against Toronto - and kept big scorers like Ryan Johnson and Danny Koevermans at bay for most of the game.
Zarek Valentin and Shavar Thomas have been seeing good minutes at full back this season. Each do well at getting forward in the attack but both can be prone to mistakes and bad giveaways in the middle of the field.
Moving up the pitch - Marsch has been able to get a lot out of Sanna Nyassi – who leads the club is shots on goal. His speed and skill has proven to be a handful for other clubs but the Gambian-born midfielder has been prone to silly fouls and yellow cards this season.
Brazilian Felipe Martins has become one of the main components in the attack as well. His paring in the center of the midfield with Collen Warner in the last game had some rocky moments but both were able to control the tempo and set the tone of the game.
Keys to getting three points
One thing is clear about this Impact squad; they are feisty and hungry to prove themselves here. In a wide-open Eastern Conference, gaining three points on the road in a Western Conference venue will always be seen as a big deal.
This team is still developing as a unit and learning to play on the same page as one another. Montreal needs to find the killer instincts to compete with quality clubs in MLS. Marsch has tinkered with the lineup so far each game and will continue to do so until he gets this club in a consistent winning mode.
So far this season Marsch has utilized a standard 4-4-2 setup with his formation. He likes his club to possess the ball through the midfield to use the speed of Nyassi up front with either Braun or Italian Bernardo Corradi.
Dallas will want to play physical up front and maintain the bulk of the possession. Adding quality pace on the wings to neutralize the Impacts skill players in the midfield will also go a long way in gaining three points.