Yes they did beat TFC in a home and away series, but it never was done with a statement victory on enemy territory. Montreal is going into Wednesday night’s game with a 1-0 advantage , thanks to a 1-0 win at Stade Saputo last Wednesday.
Is a one goal advantage enough against a team that will have a star filled lineup? Can the Impact, who are struggling really badly in league play but garnered great results in home and away series lately (CCL), hold the home side to a clean sheet? Can IMFC get that valuable away goal and get that statement win that can re-spark your team?
I believe so yes, so yes to all of the above. Call me an optimist, call me crazy, but I do feel the now famous Concacaf run of the Impact and all the experiences of playing in games with no tomorrows will be beneficial for the Bleu-Blanc-Noir. The style of play that is and was the most successful in the last couple of months is obviously the counter attack style, having an advantage, a slight one but an advantage still, heading into the second leg does give IMFC an opportunity to go back to the style that saw them make their way in the Concacaf Champions League and can give a player like Dom Oduro a very good chance to get open and free on that counter.
Of course Montreal has to possess the ball more then against Club America, but the onus of play is definitely on Toronto FC, being behind on aggregate and also struggling in league play. You can expect TFC’s biggest star to play on Wednesday, even if they are pretty quiet about it, the Voyageur’s Cup but especially the CCL is on Toronto’s radar, like Collin Warner was telling me after the first leg.
It is not going to be easy, Montreal will have to absorb a lot of pressure, they will have to contain players like Altidore and Giovinco but especially Michael Bradley. If Bradley is allowed to dictate the pace of play in the midfield like last week, it will be a long night for the Impact.
Montreal lost to Portland 2-1 Saturday, Toronto lost to Houston 1-0 on Sunday, so both team are coming off losses.
Toronto is 5th in the Eastern Conference with 9 points after 8 games played for a ppg of 1.13.
Montreal is 10th and last in the Eastern Conference with 2 points after 5 games played for a ppg of 0.4.
This will be the 22nd edition of the 401 Derby, Montreal’s record in the derby; 5 wins, 10 losses and 6 draws with 19 goals for and 29 goals against.
Here is the results of all the 401 Derby games in history:
graphic source: Wikipedia
Competition Date Home team Result Away team Attendance Recap
2008 Canadian Championship May 27, 2008 Montreal 0–1 Toronto 12,083 July 22, 2008 Toronto 1–1 Montreal 19,872
2009 Canadian Championship May 13, 2009 Toronto 1–0 Montreal 19,811 June 18, 2009 Montreal 1–6 Toronto 11,561
2010 Canadian Championship April 28, 2010 Toronto 2–0 Montreal 21,436 May 12, 2010 Montreal 0–1 Toronto 10,737
Major League Soccer April 7, 2012 Montreal 2–1 Toronto 23,120 [2]
2012 Canadian Championship May 2, 2012 Montreal 0–0 Toronto 13,405 [3] May 9, 2012 Toronto 2–0 Montreal 15,016 [4] Major League Soccer June 27, 2012 Montreal 0–3 Toronto 14,412 [5] October 20, 2012 Toronto 0–0 Montreal 16,151 [6] March 16, 2013 Montreal 2–1 Toronto 37,896 [7]
2013 Canadian Championship April 24, 2013 Toronto 2–0 Montreal 11,043 [8] May 1, 2013 Montreal 6–0 Toronto 14,931 [9] Major League Soccer July 3, 2013 Toronto 3–3 Montreal 21,700 [10] October 26, 2013 Toronto 1–0 Montreal 13,211 [11]
2014 Canadian Championship May 28, 2014 Toronto 1–1 Montreal 18,269 [12] June 4, 2014 Montreal 1–0 Toronto 13,423 [13] Major League Soccer August 2, 2014 Montreal 0–2 Toronto 16,655 [14] October 18, 2014 Toronto 1–1 Montreal 15,242 [15]
2015 Canadian Championship May 6, 2015 Montreal 1–0 Toronto 12,518 [16] May 13, 2015 Toronto Montreal Major League Soccer June 24, 2015 Toronto Montreal August 29, 2015 Toronto Montreal October 25, 2015 Montreal Toronto