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Impact aim to end road troubles in Columbus

Jun 5, 2015 - 8:19 PM Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - The Montreal Impact will try to end their road woes on Saturday when the club visits MAPFRE Stadium to take on Columbus Crew SC.

Montreal has put together a run of three wins from its last four games, but each of those victories has come at Saputo Stadium, while the club has managed just one point from four away matches this season and has failed to score a goal on the road.

"On the road, it's never the same," said midfielder Patrice Bernier. "We have to be smarter, more focused and more alert to make sure that it's up to the other team to make mistakes and pounce."

Montreal's last road outing saw the club suffer a 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Chicago Fire, which prompted quite a reaction from defender Laurent Ciman.

"There were things to say. They were said," Ciman commented when asked what the reaction was following the defeat to the Fire. "I've got a big mouth, and when I've got things to say, I say them to your face. I think everyone took their responsibilities."

Ciman's comments seemed to resonate as the Impact bounced back with a 2-1 win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Wednesday thanks to a goal from Ignacio Piatti in the 83rd minute, which came four minutes after Pedro Morales equalized for Vancouver.

Columbus is in need of a response as the team is carrying a four-game winless streak and coming off a humbling 3-0 defeat on Wednesday to the Philadelphia Union.

Goals from C.J. Sapong, Vincent Nogueira and Sebastien Le Toux handed the team a comprehensive defeat, and Crew SC head coach Gregg Berhalter felt there wasn't much to take from the game.

"Of course I'm not pleased," Berhalter said. "If I wanted to evaluate all 11 positions on the field, I'd say there aren't too many positions that we won. When you have that, it's going to be hard to win a game."

On the positive side of things, Columbus has lost only once in six home games, and the team has won all five of its all-time meetings on home soil against the Impact.

Crew SC's last three games have all come against Eastern Conference opposition, but with just two points during that stretch, Columbus will be hoping to claim a victory on Saturday in attempt to climb the conference table.

"It's definitely not the result we wanted," defender Chad Barson said after the setback to Philadelphia. "Three games in a short amount of time, all against Eastern Conference teams, so they're obviously very important games for us. It [was] an opportunity to get results and move up in the standings."