MONTREAL — A torrid start by Ignacio (Nacho) Piatti and Dominic Oduro has put to rest any concern about the Montreal Impact missing star striker Didier Drogba.
The Impact, thought to be punchless without the 38-year-old Ivorian, has scored six goals in its first two Major League Soccer games — a 3-2 road win over the Vancouver Whitecaps and a 3-0 home shutout against the New York Red Bulls.
Piatti has led the way with a league-leading three goals plus an assist. Oduro has a goal in each game and an assist.
Drogba is set to rejoin the team briefly for a game Saturday in Dallas, but the Impact has done fine without him so far.
"We are playing for each other right now," said Oduro. "It took a while for me to get adjusted with Nacho and it’s working right now.
"It’s the whole team. We’ve come to the point of helping each other. We’re clicking. This is the same team as last year. The chemistry is there."
Not completely the same. Newcomer Harry Shipp has two assists in his first two games since being acquired in a trade with the Chicago Fire.
It is uncertain if — or for how long — Drogba will play in Dallas.
The Chelsea legend electrified Saputo Stadium with 11 goals in 11 games after joining the Impact last summer. But he’s sitting out four of the Impact’s first five games because his aging knees do not hold up on synthetic surfaces.
He has been training on a grass pitch in San Francisco while the Impact works out on artificial turf until its usual practice field thaws out from the winter.
"He’s been working hard," coach Mauro Biello said of Drogba. "We’ve been getting reports and video sent to us every day of his work.
"I spoke to him the other day and he said he’s happy there."
Now the question is whether to upset a winning lineup and bring Drogba back. But Oduro said he has no problem coming off the bench or moving to the wing to make room for Drogba.
"We’re playing so good right now and the presence of Drogba will make it even better," he said. "We want him on the team.
"He scored a lot of goals for us last year and he’s going to do it for us this year. It doesn’t matter who plays. With the confidence we’re playing with right now, we should be fine."
The Impact hope to have Drogba fit and productive when it starts playing consistently on grass fields in April.
Until then, Montreal has Piatti playing perhaps the best soccer since arriving as a designated player late in the 2014 campaign. The Argentine has put on some dazzling displays of dribbling, shooting and passing.
"He’s got those noodle legs," said midfielder Kyle Bekker. "He can do so much with the ball."
Biello said Piatti is not only reading the play better but has also learned to trust his teammates and not try to do it all on his own. There were some, Oduro included, he seemed loathe to pass to last season.
"He’s engaging everybody in the game now and it’s opening up space for all the players," said Biello. "It’s about understanding when to release the ball and when to keep it."
Oduro scored eight goals last season and could have had twice that with better finish. But the speedy forward has also been sharper around the net since the start of training camp.
