MONTREAL -- Ignacio Piatti broke Montreal Impact's MLS scoring record and then kept right on scoring.
Piatti completed a brace in the 50th minute of Montreal's 4-1 win against the Portland Timbers at Stade Saputo on Saturday after overtaking Marco Di Vaio with his 35th MLS goal on a penalty kick 13 minutes in.
Piatti's second goal of the game, his 36th in 73 regular season games with Montreal, restored the Impact's two-goal lead at 3-1 after Portland scored in added time late in the first half.
"I always say that I love Montreal, and I'm happy because I work every day to get better and to score goals and to bring the Impact as far as I can," Piatti said.
But it wasn't just the Argentine who contributed to the winning effort. Kyle Fisher gave Montreal a 2-0 lead in the 43rd minute with the Timbers down to 10 players after Diego Chara was shown a straight red card 18 minutes in for striking Piatti in the face.
"You get that two-goal lead and suddenly you get a boost now because you know you've probably a little bit crushed their hopes, especially because they're at 10 men," Montreal midfielder Patrice Bernier said.
"So it was a vital goal early on and not drag it on to be a one-goal game knowing that in the past what has happened with us, where we've had a tendency to maybe sit back and then suddenly they score, 2-2, so it was a vital goal at a very important time."
Fisher, whose head was bandaged after he was injured in the 34th minute in a collision with Timbers striker Fanendo Adi, drew comparisons to hockey legend Gordie Howe for his attacking contribution and physical play alike from Impact coach Mauro Biello after he scored his first MLS goal on a header off Blerim Dzemaili's corner kick.
"I think [Fisher] had a Gordie Howe game," Biello said. "He was cut over the eye, they put the bandage on and he scored the goal. He had quite a battle with Adi all game long, so good for him. He's taken his opportunity and played very well lately."
Biello had hockey on the brain in referencing his players, comparing the play of Ballou Tabla up front to one of the National Hockey League's brightest young stars.
"If [Fisher] was Gordie Howe, [Tabla] was [Edmonton Oilers star] Connor McDavid," Biello said. "This young player has so much personality, he's so strong mentally, and he has his qualities. We have to continue to support him in the right way, to help him in the areas of his game he needs to improve, but at the same time we're going to guide him and help him to express himself because he has such qualities, we saw them today, how strong he is. Now he just has to gain experience and grow, and we're going to have a special player."
