“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.”

“He whistled for a penalty and then he was influenced by the fourth official who said he didn't think it was,” Schallibaum said following the game. “For me it's a scandal because a decision was made and then all of a sudden it's not a penalty. It was something that changed the game even though we did not play a strong first half and we were unlucky on the penalty to Hassoun.”

The fat lady hasn't sung yet but the Montreal Impact might be hearing someone practising scales backstage after dropping a 3-0 decision to the San Jose Earthquakes in CONCACAF Group 5 play in front of a sparse crowd at Buck Shaw Stadium.

“There wasn’t a lot missing today,” he continued. “A centimetre’s difference here or there and things might have been different but the game's like that. Even though we came away empty-handed today we are still on track to achieve the objectives we set at the beginning of the season.”

Yes, he scored two goals, but that probably wasn’t his biggest contribution. Before the game was five minutes old, he was brought down in the box by Revs’ keeper Matt Reis. The goalkeeper was sent off, New England was down to 10 men, Patrice Bernier converted the first of two penalties, and the Impact was off to the races.

New England starting 'keeper Matt Reis was given a straight red for his tackle on Marco Di Vaio, in alone after being declared offside on two occasions earlier. After Bobby Shuttleworth replaced Reis and midfielder Chad Barrett had his night terminated, Patrice Bernier stepped up to the spot and, using the hesitant approach to the ball that has yet to fail him in MLS, slowly rolled the ball inside the left post after Shuttleworth had committed the other way.

With so many goals in MLS this past weekend (and in the previous midweek), and many two-goal efforts from which to choose, the judges were likely swayed by the difficulty level of Rowe’s tallies.