He would not be the only Impact player sent off. Montreal would have only eight men left when the final whistle blew.

The Impact needed one of three results to go its way Sunday. But both the New England Revolution and Houston Dynamo won their matches, leaving it up to the third and final game to decide if the Impact’s season would be over or not.

"In the first half it wasn't very good. We made a lot of mistakes… the second half was better, not much better but better," head coach Marco Schallibaum said. "There were some chances to score and maybe get a 1-1 but we were not good enough to win this game today."

“I told them I felt that they wanted to win but that I didn't think wanting was enough. I also said that I felt we could turn the game around,” said Schallibaum when asked what message he addressed to his troops. “We did and I'm very proud of everyone on the team. We have had some difficult weeks and this is a kind of liberation. I'm happy for everyone because we deserved this win, it's a good moment for us.”

“Above all statistics,” Saputo enthused, “Marco is player who has proven his worth by his presence in the locker room and his leadership with our young players and, even at 37, he is a true professional and still has the desire to win.

Reluctant to rotate his personnel for the bulk of the season, Impact head coach Marco Schallibaum, prompted by injuries and suspensions to his regulars, fielded a squad that read like a reserve side, starting Evan Bush in goal, putting three youthful academy products on the back line and adding another couple to his bench.

“It's always difficult to explain after a game like this one,” declared head coach Marco Schallibaum in his post-game comments. “In short we were not strong enough. We were not able to cause the other team any difficulty. The will was there but the quality was not. We took a goal in the first half and were chasing it the rest of the game. We were not strong in the last 20 metres. We were just not good today,” he concluded.

The only goal of the match was a beauty. Garcia sent a long pas in towards the Montreal goal. Chested deftly from forward Giles Barnes to Ricardo Clark, the midfielder controlled the ball with his first touch, spun and sent an arcing shot off the inside of the left upright and into the mesh behind Troy Perkins for the first goal the Dynamo has scored against the Impact this season.

In a match more memorable for milestones and miscues than technique or tactics, the Montreal Impact scored first, scored last and managed to snatch a draw from the jaws of all-but certain defeat, tying the Chicago Fire 2-2 at Toyota Park.

“We took it seriously this evening,” said Impact gaffer Marco Schallibaum. “They played aggressively with a lot of will. With a little luck we could have scored five or six. We fought through to the end.”