Didier Drogba to leave Montreal Impact at the end of the season

The rally gives TFC the opportunity to win the series on away goals by squeezing out a 1-0 victory in the second leg next Wednesday at BMO Field.

“There isn’t a TFC team before this that would have been able to dig themselves out of that hole”, Vanney said.

A anticipated crowd of more than 60,000 and the biggest meeting ever between the two Canadian clubs from rival cities could not make it anything less.

If a team playing with a three-man defense isn’t well-disciplined and aware of their teammates’ positioning, they can get roasted down the wings.

“That’s our season. It seems like it always has to be hard for us”.

Then defender Ambroise Oyongo delivered what should have been the kill-shot eight minutes into the second half. Something could be announced next week when MLS commissioner Don Garber attends the return leg. We’ve done it against a couple of good teams. But the Impact came a bit unravelled for a time late in the game and surrendered what could prove to be a pair of costly away goals.

Tuesday’s match was delayed after it was determined that the penalty areas were too small and had to be re-lined. Fans cheered as each new line was drawn.

“We’ve been here before in terms of the scale of the game, but we can also learn from that because we didn’t win that series against Club America”, said Montreal captain Patrice Bernier of Brossard, Que. Oduro fired a low shot inside the far post for his first of the playoffs.

Oduro set Mancosu’s scoring play in motion by picking off defender Steven Beitashour’s poorly-considered header and passing left to Ignacio PIatti. It looked to give his side a spark. But TFC, who had looked like a zombie for most of the match, had some life injected into them in the 57th minute.

Didier Drogba will leave Montreal Impact at the end of the MLS season.

Didier Drogba, the 38-year-old Ivory Coast forward who starred at Chelsea, entered in the 71 minute to cheers but was thwarted twice in the dying minutes.

“The positive is we scored three goals and we won”, said Drogba. “That’s a tribute to the character of this group, the belief, because there weren’t a lot of things going overly well for us during a lot of the game”.

Montreal travel to Toronto for the second leg on November 30, knowing either a win or a draw will see them advance to the MLS Cup final in either Seattle or Colorado on December 10.

Adrian Healey and Taylor Twellman recap Montreal’s playoff win, but say they have their work cut out for them to advance.