The Chicago Fire will pay the Village of Bridgeview $60.5 million to break its SeatGeek Stadium lease, per a local report, paving the way for a move to Soldier Field in the short term — and a new home for the MLS team potentially down the road.
The Bridgeview Village Board unanimously agreed to the terms of a buyout of the lease yesterday, providing financial certainty to both the team and the village. Under the terms of the agreement, the Fire will pay $10 million upfront and the balance paid off over the next 15 years. In addition, the team will pay $5 million annually for the use of the stadium for practices. From the Des Plaines Valley News:
Mayor Steve Landek called the agreement “a fair deal for everybody.”
“We like to see the Fire unleash its potential out in the whole market. I think it’s good for the Fire. I think it’s good for Bridgeview. Most of all, it relieves any of our angst over the stadium debt.
“Sometimes, we live and die with the success of the Fire. If they have a good year, we have a good year. If they have a bad year, we all are suffering. This, I think, will be a good idea for everybody,” Landek said.
The agreement, according to Bridgeview officials, allows for SeatGeek Stadium debt to be paid off without the need for additional property taxes. In addition, there’s potentially more revenue down the road if the Fire develops a new stadium within 35 miles of SeatGeek Stadium.
For the Fire, the lease buyout frees the team to make both short-term and new long-term plans. Short term, the team is likely to commit to Soldier Field, home of the NFL’s Chicago Bears, until a new stadium is prepped. The former Michael Reese Hospital site on Lake Shore Drive, just south of McCormick Place, has been under city ownership since it was purchased as part of a failed bid for the 2016 Olympics. It has not been redeveloped thus far, but a new Fire stadium could be part of the solution. Chicago Planning and Development Commissioner David Reifman, who is resigning from his post, mentioned a potential Fire stadium during an interview on Monday. However, he labeled it a “long-term idea” and cautioned that any future redevelopment of the site will be complex, likely requiring multiple uses. Sounds like the sort of large-scale development challenge MLS officials love.
No puede decir mucho sobre un partido amitoso, pero este partido fue interesante al menos. El Real Betis disputaba miércoles 22 de mayo ante el DC United, el primero de los dos encuentros amistosos programados en su gira por los Estados Unidos. Tras concluir el pasado fin de semana la competición liguera, los verdiblancos visitaban hoy miércoles el Audi Field para medirse al segundo clasificado de la Conferencia Este del campeonato norteamericano. Fue un partido entretenido y vistoso en el que el los verdiblancos demostraron su superioridad.
Loren adelantó a los verdiblancos cuando se cumplía el primer cuarto de hora y en el minuto 36 apareció Sergio León para hacer el segundo, llegándose al descanso con clara ventaja para el Betis.
En el inicio de la segunda parte, el D.C. United acortó distancias en el marcador con el tanto de Yow, pero el equipo de Heliópolis siguió mostrando su superioridad y Joaquín, en el minuto 63, logró el 1-3.
Poco después, replicó el equipo de Washington con el tanto de Amarikwa, pero Bartra, de penalti, y Robert, éste con una vistosa jugada, se encargaron de finiquitar el encuentro.
Tras este partido en Washington D.C., los verdiblancos viajarán el sábado al estado de Tennessee para enfrentarse al Chattanooga FC y cerrar la aventura en Estados Unidos para posteriormente iniciar las vacaciones.
Lineups:
DC United: Seitz; Ward, Verfurth, Robinson (Presley, m. 52), Odoi Atsem (Saravia, m. 65); Stieber (Kadono, m. 52), Moreno, McCann, Segura (Yow, m. 32), Arriola (Omar Campos, m. 91), Amarikwa.
Real Betis: Pau López (Joel Robles, m. 46); Emerson (Francis, m. 65), Bartra, Feddal, Sidnei (Calderón, m. 65), Tello (Abreu, m. 79); Javi García (Rodri, m. 79), Guardado (Kaptoum, m. 59), Joaquín (Roberto, m. 65); Loren (Jesé, m. 46) y Sergio León (Raúl, m. 46).
Árbitro: Guido González Jr. Amonestó a Joel Robles por parte del Real Betis y a Orlando Sinclair en el DC United
For DC United, their starting lineup looked very different than it usually does, with many young players earning some of their first minutes for the side. While it was a 5-2 defeat for the Black-and-Red, they created some impressive chances and two players earned their first goals for D.C. United.
Griffin Yow, a 16-year old striker, making only his second appearance for DC, came in as a substitute for Ulises Segura in the 31st minute. He scored D.C. United’s first goal of the match at the start of the second half. Yow intercepted the ball off a goalkeeper throw and set up his shot just outside the 18-yard box. The ball took a favourable deflection off a Real Betis defender and soared past the goalkeeper into the far corner of the net. Quincy Amarikwa, who has been a frequent substitute for D.C. United in MLS matches, scored DC’s second goal in the 59th. Orlando Sinclair’s shot deflected off the goalkeeper, off the crossbar, and then found the head of Amarikwa, who put it into the back of the net.
Head Coach Ben Olsen spoke highly of Yow’s performance:
“I thought he was great tonight,” Olsen said after the match. He added:
“That’s why we were keen on signing him and we’re excited to continue working with him to get him to where he needs to be… which is getting real minutes with the first team. He looked comfortable in his own skin out there. He’s clever, technically gifted and has a good feel for the game. We have to work on his physicality and he has some lessons to learn defensively… but he’s going to be fun to work with.”
In a footnote to the story covered on Russo Law and Soccer, the action by FXE Futbol against the City of Fort Lauderdale and Inter Miami CF is officially finished.
Court records obtained (shown above) show that FXE Futbol, through its attorney, filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal in the matter.
The dismissal is “with prejudice,” meaning that the case cannot be refiled.
A link to the prior story is here:
Inter Miami is now moving ahead with its plans for its new Lockhart Stadium, Training Centre and Academy. An official ceremony was held today at the site in Fort Lauderdale.
The New England Revolution have appointed Bruce Arena the club’s sporting director and head coach, effective immediately. Arena is the winningest coach in United States Men’s National Team history and a five-time MLS Cup champion. He brings more than four decades of coaching experience at the international and domestic levels to the Revolution.
“Bruce is one of the most successful coaches in American soccer history, and we feel his commitment to excellence, track record of winning championships in Major League Soccer, as well as his success at the international level, makes him the best person to bring the Revolution back to MLS Cup contention,” Revolution Investor/Operator Robert Kraft said. “We have known Bruce dating back to the advent of MLS, and we have full confidence that he will raise the level of our club to the standard we all expect and demand.”
“It was evident when talking with Bruce that we share a vision for the future of the Revolution and we look forward to having him oversee our soccer organization,” Revolution President Brian Bilello said. “We believe that now is the time for a change in leadership and there is no one better suited to usher in a new era of success in New England.”
Backdrop To Arena’s Hiring
(Note: Includes edits and portions of reprinted article in The Athletic by Sam Stejskal)
After a 5-0 blowout loss to the Chicago Fire last Wednesday, May 8, the New England Revolution fired head coach Brad Friedel the next day.
He wasn’ttheonly problem plaguing the Revs. New England is a prime example of how not to succeed in today’s Major League Soccer.
Friedel was just 46 games into his tenure as head coach. The defeat was a good encapsulation of the myriad of problems that the former U.S. international faced in New England. The Revs had nothing in the way of attacking ideas, failed to finish the few opportunities they did create and made a slew of basic individual errors in defence to allow a five-spot against a Chicago team that had been shutout in three straight games heading into Wednesday’s match.
The loss was New England’s second consecutive five-goal defeat, dropped the Revs to 2-8-2 on the season and pushed their goal differential to a staggering -19. It was a pathetic performance, the type of game where you could almost see the players quit on their coach.
New England was justified in their decision to dismiss Friedel, but things won’t meaningfully improve for the Revs just because they’re changing managers. Even the soccer equivalent of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, the man who’s led Revs owners Robert and Jonathan Kraft to so much NFL glory over the years, would have a hard time fixing the myriad issues that come with how his bosses run their MLS team.
The Revs don’t spend on their first team and don’t pay transfer fees.
The Revs don’t spend on their first team and don’t pay transfer fees. They’ve been in the bottom half of the league in payroll in six of the last eight seasons and have ranked in the bottom three in three of those years. Being cheap makes it difficult to build a consistent winner in MLS, but it doesn’t make it impossible. As Kansas City, Dallas and Columbus have shown in recent seasons, low-budget clubs can thrive when they make smart signings, hire astute coaches and invest in youth development. New England has done none of those things under General Manager Mike Burns, who, despite mostly subpar results, has been with the club since 2005 and in his current position since November 2011.
It’s telling that Burns’ most impactful signing — Jermaine Jones — happened almost entirely by accident. The Revs weren’t even initially in on the former U.S. international, as a source confirmed that the German-born midfielder was seriously negotiating only with the Chicago Fire when he began talks to join the league following the 2014 World Cup. New England worked themselves into the picture in the latter stages, and the league eventually decided that they’d assign Jones to either New England or Chicago via blind draw. Commissioner Don Garber picked the Revs’ name out of an envelope and Jones ended up in Boston. Seriously. That’s how it worked.
Jones ended up teaming with playmaker Lee Nguyen to lead New England on a second-half tear that ended with a surprise appearance at MLS Cup 2014. Burns did an undeniably good job assembling that roster, which, in addition to Jones and Nguyen, featured veterans Jose Goncalves and A.J. Soares and promising youngsters Scott Caldwell, Andrew Farrell, Diego Fagundez, Kelyn Rowe and Teal Bunbury.
New England looked positioned to sustain their success, but they’ve gotten just about everything wrong in the four-plus years since they appeared in the final. Soares left for Norway as a free agent after the 2014 season, unhappy with the contract he’d been offered by New England. Jones was gone a year later, off to Colorado to help theoften-lackluster Rapidsto the second-best record in the league in 2016.
By the time Jones left, MLS was six months into its targeted allocation money era. Teams had been given the money to shop in better markets for better players. Some have used the extra cash well. The Revs have only fallen behind, having made a series of over-the-max signings that taken together are a cautionary tale of how not to spend. Michael Mancienne, Claude Dielna, Antonio Delamea, Benjamin Angoua, Luis Caicedo, Wilfried Zahibo and Krisztian Nemeth have ranged from mildly disappointing to utterly disastrous. Winger Cristian Penilla had a strong 2018, but he fell into Friedel’s doghouse over the last six weeks and didn’t even make the 18-man squad for Wednesday’s heavy loss. Striker Juan Fernando Caicedo has only been with the Revs a few months, but early returns have been middling at best.
New England is one of only two clubs in MLS with just one Designated Player.
New designated player Carles Gil is talented, but he’s the Revs’ lone DP. Colorado is the only other team in MLS with a single DP on their roster. Fittingly, the Rapids, who fired coach Anthony Hudson last week, are perhapsthe only club currently in a worse situation than the Revs.
Meanwhile, the young core that looked so promising in 2014 has either left or stagnated. Nguyen was traded to LAFC after a messy holdout in 2018. Rowehad issues with Friedeland was sent to Kansas City this past offseason. Caldwell, Fagundez, Farrell and Bunbury remain, but none have markedly improved since the club’s run to the final. Part of that falls on the individual players, but some of the blame lies with Friedel and his predecessor, former head coach Jay Heaps, both of whom struggled to develop young talent and both of whom were hired during Burns’ tenure as GM.
The Revs have only finished in the top half in attendance once in the last decade.
Things aren’t much better off the field. The Revs have only finished in the top half of MLS in attendance once in the last decade, barely managing that feat when they finished 10th (average of 20,184 per game) in the then-20-team league in 2016. It was the club’s highest average attendance since 1997.
The Revolution, however, remain invisible in a sports-mad market, where each of the other professional sports teams have great popularity, long traditions, and constant media coverage. Some say this is due to the suburban location of Gillette Stadium, tucked away in the hills of tiny Foxborough, Massachusetts and actually located closer to Providence, R.I. than downtown Boston. But that cannot be the reason, as the Patriots have called Foxborough home since the days before they were a winning team, and even back then fans drove from all over New England to see them play.
Editor’s Note: Access to the stadium is easy and parking is included in the price of the ticket. With the crowds the Revolution draw in a 67,000 stadium, there is never a traffic jam. That said, the sparse crowds make for a terrible soccer game day atmosphere.
Revolution Supporters waving the flag of New England in “The Fort,” Sections 141-143 of Gillette Stadium
Despite their longstanding irrelevance in the region, the team’s business operations have been led by the same man, president Brian Bilello, since the 2012 season. Bilello, who has been with the Revs in some capacity since 2003, and Burns both have difficult jobs.
The Krafts don’t give the General Manager and Director of Business Operations the same level of resources as most of their counterparts around the league.
The Krafts don’t give them the same level of resources as most of their more successful counterparts around the league, and becoming a real player in the crowded Boston sports scene while stuck in Foxborough is a tall order when you don’t employ one of the best coaches and one of the best players ever to play your particular sport, as the Patriots do.
But to stick with the same leadership in the face of so little progress, or, in the case of the on-field product, flat-out regression, raises real questions about how much the Krafts care about the Revs. To be fair, the Krafts, along with the Hunt family and Phil Anschutz, sunk millions upon millions to keep the league afloat when it was on the brink of going under in the early 2000s. They deserve credit for that. It shouldn’t be forgotten.
But it’s also fair to ask if they’d tolerate this type of mediocrity from the Patriots. The Patriot Way works with Belichick and Brady. It hasn’t with Burns and Bilello. Would the Krafts let their NFL franchise languish for so long near the bottom of the league in payroll, results and attendance without holding their top executives accountable? If not, why on earth should they do so in the face of such lackluster results from the Revs?
There isn’t a good answer to that question.
All is Not Lost: Positive Steps
Thankfully for New England, there are a few ways forward. Better coaching and smarter management should lead to better results, which will naturally lead to better attendance in Foxborough.
New Training Centre
The Krafts are starting to open the wallet, too. They’re spending $40 million on a state-of-the-art training facility that will open at Gillette Stadium late this summer.
News from my former home: The Revolution have broken ground on the club’s new 68 acre training and academy facility which will have office space, training facilities and 6 professional standard soccer fields. #soccerbusiness#MLS#academyhttps://t.co/aCPOcdgg4q
They were reportedly on the brink of committing $14 million total in transfer fee and salary to sign midfielder Paul-Jose M’Poku from Belgian club Standard Liege before the deal broke down over personal terms earlier this week. Even being in discussions to spend that kind of cash on designated players and TAM signings should lead to better things in New England.
New Stadium?
A real step forward would be to finally build a stadium of their own in or closer to Boston. Boston is a densely-populated, older city, and it’s not easy to find the land needed for such a task.
According to sources, the club is working on finding a soccer-specific home of their own in Boston proper. Two separate sources have gone as far as to say that the club is on the brink of securing a stadium site. One of those sources added that the architectural plans are near completion, and that the Revs would be ready to break ground on a stadium shortly after receiving approval, should it come.
But the club has been down this road before. Too many times to count, really. Plans have been leaked, sites have been teased, hopes have been raised. They’ve all been dashed. Maybe this time will be different.
Editor’s Note: This is one of the many stadium plans in and around Boston that have not succeeded:
STATEMENT FROM ROBERT AND JONATHAN KRAFT APRIL 28, 2017 “In 2015, we were invited to put together a stadium proposal for the former Bayside Exhibition Center site. Since then, we have invested millions of dollars and thousands of staff hours to design and structure a venue that would benefit UMass Boston, the City of Boston and serve as an asset to the surrounding communities, with an operating plan that would benefit all local constituencies. We were committed to a fully-funded, privately-financed stadium that would have totalled an investment in excess of $250 million. There was also a full-value land lease to UMass that would have provided annual payments to the university. As is the case with any development opportunity, there were numerous hurdles to overcome and we regularly adjusted our plans to cater to the needs of the project. Unfortunately, and for reasons beyond our control, it has been determined that this project is not feasible to pursue on this site at this time. It is our goal to continue to seek development opportunities where we can invest in a soccer specific stadium that will benefit its surrounding communities while giving our fans and our players a venue they will be proud to call home for generations to come.”
Perhaps the Revs will soon build the first open-air pro sports stadium in the city of Boston since Fenway Park was constructed in 1912. The club would certainly get a huge marketing boost if they do, and the Krafts, per those two sources, would start to spend significantly on their roster if they build a stadium.
But all that’s worthless unless shovels actually hit the dirt. Until then, the Revs are stuck in Foxborough. And while their ceiling is certainly lower there than it would be at their own soccer-specific home in Boston, they can still consistently succeed on the field and find a measure of relevance off of it while at Gillette.
New Leadership
In addition to hiring a new coach and potentially seeking new execs for New England, to achieve those two objectives, will require increased attention, investment and accountability from ownership. It’ll require the Krafts to start driving real, long-term solutions for the Revs.
It’ll require them to stop beingtheproblem.
In the wake of how this season has gone for New England, the club, on May 13, 2019 released General Manager Mike Burns.
“As an original Revolution player and throughout his time with the club’s front office, Michael has always been a terrific ambassador for the club,” said Revolution President, Brian Bilello. “His impact on the team and organisation has been felt in many ways and we are grateful for his commitment and service to the New England Revolution.”
With regard to next steps for the club, Bilello said, “In light of recent results and the team’s on-field direction over the last few seasons, we felt it was time to take the soccer side of the organisation in a different direction. We expect to make an announcement related to leadership of the soccer organisation in the coming days.”
“Demolition Day” paid tribute to the past while remaining squarely focused on the future of “fútbol” in South Florida.
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Wednesday May 8, 2019)
A South Florida morning at its finest – bright, sunny skies, light breezes and warm temperatures – provided the perfect backdrop to an official ceremony by Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami to mark the beginning of the transformation of Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. The site will be the permanent home of the Inter Academy, the club Training Centre, and home of its USL affiliated club. A new 18,000 seat stadium will be built as part of a park with a soccer focus. In addition to being home for the yet-to-be-named USL club, the stadium will be the temporary home for Inter Miami CF during its first two seasons in Major League Soccer, before moving to Miami Freedom Park once it is ready.
Television personality and fútbol commentator Fernando Fiore was the host of the ceremony and was his vibrant and humorous self. He recalled his many visits to Lockhart Stadium over the years, and called it a “pleasure” to return. He pulled out his ticket to the inaugural Miami Fusion game from Sunday, March 15, 1998 – Section 3, Row 15, Seat 98. “Please Jorge, make sure I have a seat by that one when we open the new one,” he joked.
Supporters of the new club were also very visible, with all three of the official Inter Miami Supporters Groups on hand: Vice City 1896, Southern Legion and The Siege. They sang, waved flags, banged drums, and set off the ubiquitous Inter Miami pink smoke into the air, announcing their presence and laying claim to the site.
Inter Miami CF Managing Owner Jorge Mas was one of the speakers at the event. Charismatic as always, he wanted to stress what the project stands for:
“This is about the youth and the younger generation. “This is for the young men and women who will be able to achieve their dreams here, who will be able to do something great for our community and fill their hearts with the joy of sport, with the joy of this beautiful game, with the joy of bringing families together. That’s what this project is all about.”
"The joy of sport, the joy of the beautiful game, the joy of bringing families together- this is what #InterMiamiCF is all about"
I had the chance to ask Ray Hudson, a legend of soccer here, who played for the original Ft. Lauderdale Strikers and later managed the MLS Miami Fusion, as well as enjoying success as an announcer for BeIn Sports. He told me he’s on board and called it a sign of progress. He also added to TV reporters:
“It’s all going to be torn down and that’s a good thing, it’s the progress that we’ve been looking for and this is in responsible hands.”
Ray Hudson
Among politicians on hand was Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis. During his speech addressing the attendees, he said: “This is truly a historic day for the city of Fort Lauderdale as we come together to kick off a visionary project that will completely transform the 64-acre site and have a lasting impact on our community for generations to come,” Trantalis added: “Our partnership with Miami Beckham United and Inter Miami CF represents a new and exciting chapter in the history of this storied property. One that will bring $60 million in upgrades and improvements including a new professional soccer stadium, training facilities, team offices, a youth soccer academy, multi-purpose community athletic fields, and a major public park.”
With speeches finished, it was time to get wrecking, and the old Lockhart Stadium ticket booth was the first part to come down.
Looking Ahead: Images of the new Lockhart Park (courtesy of Inter Miami CF and Manika)
Season Ticket Deposit Campaign Begins
Yesterday also saw the opening day for fans to begin placing deposits on season tickets for the inaugural season in 2020. Links are available on Inter Miami social media channels, or online at www.InterMiamiCF.com. Fans can also affiliate with a supporters group, thereby gaining the ability to receive a special rate on season ticket deposits in the supporters section of the stadium as well as other benefits. More details are available on each of the social media accounts of the supporters groups.
Ordered and Adjudged that Plaintiff’s Emergency Motion for Temporary Injunction, filed April 23, 2019, is hereby DENIED. Additionally, Plaintiff’s unverified request for Emergency Relief, filed April 30, 2019, is hereby DENIED. Furthermore, this Court GRANTS Defendants’ Request for reasonable attorney’s fees in defending against Plaintiff’s unverified Request For Emergency Relief, pursuant to section 57.105, Florida Statutes. See Also Admin. Order 2014-32-Civ(c)(6) (Sep. 30, 2014). DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers at Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, on this May 3rd, 2019. s/ Raag Singhal, Circuit Court Judge
And with those words, the merit-less attempt to stop Inter Miami CF from continuing its plans to demolish the abandoned and dilapidated Lockhart Stadium, in order to make way for a new stadium, training centre and academy, was disposed of, leaving club officials, supporters and fans with a much-needed victory.
David J. Winker, acting as counsel for FXE Futbol, went to court to put a halt to the work. He left court owing what will surely be a hefty legal bill to the attorneys who defended the City of Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beckham United, LLC. against an emergency motion seeking an injunction that the Court felt was thoroughly without merit.
The primary argument raised by Miami Beckham United, LLC, a co-defendant in this case, was that the City of Fort Lauderdale’s decision to accept the unsolicited bid it made was one that is not properly reviewable by the Court: “The Plaintiff cites to zero authority, and Inter Miami is aware of none, that supports the proposition that a third party, without a legally recognized contractual or property interest in specific municipally owned property, such as Plaintiff, may enjoin that municipality from demolishing its own property.” (Defendant Miami Beckham United, LLC’s Response in Opposition To Plaintiff’s Emergency Motion For Temporary Injunction, pg. 5,6)
It was also argued that the Plaintiff lacks standing (a legal term meaning that it has no ability to bring forth a claim) and failed to meet any of the four requirements needed to be shown for injunctive relief to be granted.
The team’s counsel John K. Shubin, made this statement after today’s decision:
“Today’s decision confirms that the process that is bringing world-class soccer to the City of Fort Lauderdale was both lawful and fair. Our client will continue to move forward in good faith with the hard work that needs to be accomplished to convert this process into a reality. We also hope that we have seen the end of this meritless litigation.”
John K. Shubin, Esq.
With a little over 300 days until the start of the 2020 season, at least the question of where Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami will be playing its home games took a big step forward today.
A major component of Inter Miami CF’s plans for the Lockhart site, in addition to a 19,000 seat stadium that will serve as the interim home for the club as well as the permanent home to its affiliated USL League One (3rd Division), is a youth soccer academy — a competitive, travelling soccer team of the region’s best young players. The academy will be fully funded by the club, and players selected will be able to attend for free. The first members of the Inter Miami CF Academy are expected to be announced sometime soon. More than 6,000 South Florida youth players were scouted and over 500 were invited to attend formal tryouts that have been held at the Central Broward Regional Park and Stadium.
For the public, four “pitches” — a regulation size soccer field that can be used for other sports — will be created, as well as a dog park, a running trail, playground and public park. The estimated investment that Inter Miami is making, including new, $30 million stadium: up to $60 million.
Inter Miami’s permanent home will be located in Miami at Miami Freedom Park, the site now occupied by the Melreese Golf Club. The team is currently working out the details of a lease which will be presented to the City of Miami.
UPDATE: Lockhart Stadium’s demolition is set to officially begin this Wednesday, May 8, 2019. All supporter groups and fans are welcome to arrive between 8:15-8:45 A.M. EDT.
Miami, Fla. (Thursday, April 25, 2019) by Kenneth Russo
The Impact again demonstrated the ability to rebound, something that’s been on display nine games into the 2019 season. Every time the Impact suffered a loss this season, the club has responded by taking points in the following match, often with strong defensive play and earning a clean sheet.
Such was the case once again on Wednesday night, in Foxborough, Massachusetts. After suffering a 3-0 loss to the Philadelphia Union on Saturday, the Impact travelled to New England and made themselves chez soi at a practically empty Gillette Stadium, dominating the hosts in every statistical category en route to a 3-0 win.
The announced attendance of 9,422 seems rather generous to anyone who watched the game.
That Montréal was able to win despite facing a ridiculous travel arrangement is testimony to the resiliency of this year’s ensemble. The club lobbied Major League Soccer officials to postpone Wednesday’s match after its Tuesday commercial flight out of Canada was cancelled. The team waited at Montréal Trudeau International Airport until 10 p.m. Tuesday night only to end up having to come back the next day for a charter flight which itself was delayed. MLS denied Montreal’s request, a denial based squarely for commercial purposes. The team only arrived in Boston the afternoon of the game. The game kicked off on schedule, shortly after 7:30 p.m. ET.
The travel debacle is worthy of an investigation into how MLS clubs travel. Major League Soccer has made impressive strides on many fronts in recent years, but if the Montreal Impact’s travel situation proved anything, it’s that the league still has a long way to go in certain areas.
“What we’ve been through the last 24 hours should never happen, but we used it as a motivation to come here. It’s not about convenience for the players, it was a matter of player safety. We’re lucky not to get players injured today.”
Evan Bush, Impact de Montréal goalkeeper
The Impact spent so much time getting from Montréal to Foxborough, Massachusetts by air that it would have been far quicker to simply arrange for a motor coach.
I’ve driven the route from Providence to Montréal many times and it’s an easy six-hour drive. (five and one half hours’ drive to Foxborough, a distance of 539 kilometres [335 miles].) Under the circumstances, it would have been a much less stressful option for the Impact.
Nevertheless, it was Montréal that arrived match-ready.
The Bleu-Blanc-Noir handed the New England Revolution its fourth home loss of the season on Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium.
Game Summary
Shamit Shome pounced on an error by Revolution goalkeeper Cody Cropper to score the game’s opening goal in the 79th minute, then second half substitute Anthony Jackson-Hamel added his team’s second and third strikes in the 85th and 93rd minutes, respectively, as part of a late-game brace.
“We are satisfied because the preparation for this game was more than complicated. The group reacted well and did not use this situation as an excuse, but as motivation. They showed that when we are all together, we have a collective force that is good to see on the pitch. We gave them problems tonight with more intensity, while keeping our defensive rigour.”
Montréal head coach Rémi Garde.
Montréal (4-3-2, 14 points) sits second in the table in the Eastern Conference. New England is tenth.
Shome celebrates after scoring a goal in the 79th minute.
Game Summary:
Referee:Nima Saghafi Assistant Referees:Frank Anderson (AR1), Philippe Briere (AR2) Fourth Official:David Gantar VAR:Alan Kelly Weather: 13°C / 57° F and Clear Attendance:9,422
