NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 22 – Harambee Stars skipper Victor Wanyama says he was lucky to remain on the pitch after a horror tackle from DC United’s Felipe Martins during his side Impact Montreal’s 1-0 win over the capital side in the MLS is Back Tournament in Orlando early Wednesday morning.
Felipe gushed in on Wanyama with studs on his shin, escaping with only a yellow card.
Did he die?!….Nope…..ok just a yellow then. pic.twitter.com/hYsnq0l6Tv
— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) July 22, 2020
“He was nowhere near the ball and it was a dangerous tackle. He is lucky to stay on the pitch and I think I am also lucky to remain on the pitch and now I am okay and will move on from that,” Wanyama said after the match.
The Stars midfielder was named man of the match for Montreal with seven recoveries, three clearances, two tackles and one shot on target.
After losing back to back matches against Toronto and New England Revolution, Wanyama’s Montreal faced a must win tie against DC and they delivered the victory with Saphir Taider scoring the lone goal in the 31st minute.
Votre Joueur Helix du match présenté par @Videotron
— CF Montréal (@cfmontreal) July 22, 2020
Your Helix Man of the match presented by Videotron
✅ 1 tir cadré 🎯
✅ 2 tacles 💥
✅ 1 interception ⛔
✅ 3 dégagements 🧹
✅ 7 récupérations 🔁
Warrior @VictorWanyama 💪🦁#IMFC #MLSisBack pic.twitter.com/RgyECxjXLI
Wanyama was delighted with the victory by his side which gives them a chance of progressing to the round of 16 of the MLS tournament in Orlando.
“We have been working hard in training and it has not been easy for us playing first two games and losing. But, we are a good group, we always want to take positives and learn quickly. I feel we have started gelling well as a team, defending well as a unit and that’s what we needed. Hopefully we can use the momentum and keep going,” Wanyama further stated.
The victory took Montreal to third in the standings with three points and will hope results from other groups go their way so they can sneak into the round of 16 as one of the best third placed teams.
Head coach Thierry Henry says he was happy to get the three points despite being pushed to their backs by DC in the second half.
“It was pretty against Toronto. We bossed them and had much of the ball but we lost. Today, it was not pretty especially in the second half but we won. That’s the most important. Hopefully we can carry on in this tournament but if we don’t we just look at the league. It was important for us to be back,” Henry said after the match.
The MLS is Back Tournament is organized in a bio-bubble in Orlando as sports in the United States looks to slowly come back after stoppages caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
