After a month’s break, Victor Wanyama’s Montreal Impact were able to pick up a 2-0 win against Vancouver Whitecaps in a Major League Soccer (MLS) tie on Tuesday.
Wanyama and teammates welcomed their opponents at Stade Saputo as Romell Quioto and Lassi Lappalainen scored two important goals to boost their hopes of better performances going forward.
Montreal Impact have not been able to host matches at their home stadium for over 10 months where they last picked up a 3-0 win against the New York Red Bulls to close the season in 2019.
Both Quioto and Lappalainen scored first-half goals to seal a victory for the first time since beating Orlando City 1-0 during the knockout round of the MLS is Back tournament on July 25.
With the attendance of 250 supporters, Montreal Impact had to fight hard to ensure the fans returned home with a smile. The small number of fans were allowed in order to obey the Covid-19 safety regulations.
— Impact de Montréal (@impactmontreal) August 26, 2020
Montreal Impact became the first Canadian professional team to host fans for a match at a sporting event when the pandemic started.
The opener for the hosts came in the 18th minute when Saphir Taider’s header was met and headed in by Quioto. It is the scorer’s third goal of the season.
They scored the second when Lappalainen found himself on a one-on-one situation with the Vancouver Whitecaps’ goalkeeper Thomas Hasal and managed to bury the ball for a 2-0 lead five minutes before half-time.
Goalkeeper Clement Diop denied Vancouver Whitecaps a goal when he stopped a penalty in the 51st minute by Lucas Cavallini.
The defeat at Eastern Canada means Vancouver Whitecaps have lost in the last three matches after falling to Toronto FC in the last two matches on August 18 and 21 respectively.
They have conceded six goals and have scored none as their campaign seems to falter each and every day.
Lappalainen was voted the man of the match after he played a critical role in the build-up to the first goal and of course scoring the winning one.
Wanyama’s coach Thierry Henry was happy with the return to their home ground hoping they can establish something solid.
“We’re coming from Orlando, where there was no one,” Henry told the club’s website.
“We’re at home now. We can leave training and return to our families. You can establish something more solid, which wasn’t the case in Orlando.
“Stade Saputo is familiar to the players, even if it won’t be full. It changes things a bit.”
Montreal Impact will host Toronto on August 28.