Mancosu scores twice, Impact beat United 4-2 to advance

That obviously didn’t wind up working in the end, with Montreal winning the match and Omer Damari making a awful challenge late to earn a red card.

Perched in the RFK Stadium mezzanine, Didier Drogba loomed over the Montreal Impact’s playoff opener against D.C. United in more ways than one.

“At times we played well and were organized and then one play cost us, even though we had pretty good control of the match”, Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch said. If they stay patient in the second game, the chances should come.

MF Alex Muyl – After several months of frustrating near-misses, Muyl has displayed solid form over the last two games, notching a goal and an assist in wins over Columbus and Philadelphia. The central midfield trio of Patrice Bernier, Marco Donadel and Hernan Bernardello has been solid in creating turnovers and keeping opposing attackers to the outside. “Our main priority now is to focus on the last game of the season and the upcoming playoffs”. Kljestan finishes the regular season with 20 assists, just the second player in league history to record 20 or more assists in a season.

However, there has been considerable debate as to whether it is an injury or an argument with Montreal coach Mauro Biello that has kept the 38-year-old out of the lineup.

The Impact outshot D.C. United 9-5 in the opening half. Sporting KC also had work to do on the final day of the season, beating the San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 at home.

In the only other MLS game Thursday, Nelson Valdez scored on a diving header in the 88th minute to lift the Seattle Sounders FC to a 1-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. We’re lucky to have a player like Drogba on our team. “We have a tendency to be dominated (territorially), but we don’t panic in those moments”.

DC United vs Montreal Impact at 7:30pm on UniMas. We are going in to the lion’s den and it’s going to be a hard game. It’s like a game of cat and mouse.

Drogba has a chance to get back in the lineup against the Red Bulls, according to Biello.

Drogba, who the team reports has been nursing a sore back, came out of the clubhouse an hour into practice with a scarf covering all his face but his eyes due to the cold. Valdez’s game victor was Seattle’s first shot on frame.

But D.C., only one point ahead of Montreal, also sat out its starters and lost in Orlando. “Sometimes it’s a bit slower than you would think, but I think NY is going to want to keep the pace as fast as they can”. “The plan was to rest and prepare”.

So who gets the nod Sunday? That left them open to the threat of Ignacio Piatti on the counter attack, and the Argentine wizard finally scored his goal in the 83rd minute. “The important thing is the game on Thursday”.