Montreal, QC – The Montreal Impact will put their unblemished record on the line Saturday when they host Red Bull New York at the Olympic Stadium.
Montreal, one of three unbeaten teams remaining this season, is the only club to manage maximum points from its first three matches of the campaign.
It is a far cry from the form that saw the Impact open the 2012 season with an 0-4-1 record through their first five games.
Part of that is down to the change culture brought about by new head coach Marco Schallibaum, who has instilled a winning mentality in his team. Even with the Impact grabbing a 2-1 win over Toronto FC last time out, defender Hassoun Camara was left disappointed.
"We all felt a little disappointed coming into the locker room," Camara said. "We've got three points, and defending well is a virtue, but I think we could have done a lot better in the second half.
"We should have kept playing and not concentrated on defending. Yet I feel that it's positive that we do have a lot to work on and that we're first with nine points. Maybe we would have lost that game, last year."
New York has been on the opposite end of the spectrum. The Red Bulls, still searching for their first win, have managed just two points from their opening three contests of the season.
Last weekend's draw with D.C. United was a step in the right direction for the club. Even though the match finished scoreless, New York dominated from beginning to end but failed to find the back of the net.
The chances that New York fails to produce a goal north of the border this weekend have increased with the news that Thierry Henry will miss the match due to a mild MCL sprain.
"Thierry's someone who always wants to play," head coach Mike Petke said on Tuesday. "It was one of those things that I was very seriously leaning towards not even bringing him to Montreal.
"This is a little setback with Thierry and his knee, but it shouldn't be too serious."
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