Impressed with the Montreal Impact yet? You should be

If you are not impressed yet with the second-year Montreal Impact, then you aren’t paying attention.

Marco Schallibaum’s club has three wins in three matches this year, including two on the road and a sweet victory in Saturday’s home opener. That’s no fluke.

Things got pretty raggedy in the second half of Saturday’s 2-1 win over Toronto, as the visiting Reds got a goal after the break to half the deficit and pressed hard for the equalizer.

In the end, all the hard work from captain Davy Arnaud and central midfielder Patrice Bernier (not to mention the well-taken finish from Marco Di Vaio) was enough to see Montreal open with a perfect nine points from a possible nine.

Now, prepare to be even more impressed – because the Impact players were not happy with things. From Schallibaum:

I saw the players. They are not happy. That’s a good sign, also. Because they know it wasn’t good, the second half. But we won. When I go inside [the locker room] and say, ‘Hey guys, we have three points. That’s good’  But I see the guys, they are not happy. That’s a good sign.

There is a bit of concern, as veteran Italian defender Alessandro Nesta went off injured in the first half. We’ll watch that one.

As you watch the highlights, note that it’s Bernier’s swell ball out of midfield that creates the penalty kick – which Bernier nails.

Full highlights from Saturday’s match:

.