Patrice Bernier did what a captain does: He owned up to his mistake.
His team, the Montreal Impact, played at the Philadelphia Union last Saturday, and until the second half of that game, Bernier could be pleased with his performance. For a while he maintained possession, dictating the tempo for his team and completing 39 of his 40 passes while also chipping in with some timely recoveries.
But it all stopped in the 67th minute, when referee Sorin Stoica deservedly showed Bernier a second yellow card for sliding dangerously at the Union’s Vincent Nogueira. That came after a caution for Bernier in the 22nd minute, when he blocked Cristian Maidana’s path to the ball too enthusiastically.
On Tuesday, Bernier said that while he didn’t think he touched Nogueira on the critical play, he did admit that the tackle itself “created something” for the referee to act upon.
“With my experience, I shouldn’t have put myself in that situation,” Bernier told reporters. “But it has happened. I [move on]. I’m already punished. I can’t play on Saturday or be eligible. I move forward.”
That was Bernier’s first career ejection in MLS. Since returning to his hometown in December 2011, he had been suspended just once. That's when the MLS Disciplinary Committee banned him for one game for a risky challenge on Toronto FC’s Ryan Johnson on June 27, 2012.
Now, after getting back into the starting lineup, Bernier will be suspended again.
After the ejection on Saturday, on his way to the PPL Park locker room, Bernier received apparently sympathetic words and gestures from teammates former and current: Andrew Wenger, Laurent Ciman, Donny Toia and Evan Bush. That was before Jack McInerney gave Montreal hopes of three points with an unlikely go-ahead goal just three minutes after Bernier walked.
“I was glad when I got back to the locker room; an official told me that we’d scored,” Bernier said. “It takes some pressure off, knowing that you left your team with 10 men but that they're leading. I owe [Jack] a good one. But we got out with a point. It makes it easier to move on from the red.”
As a group, the Impact said they were most pleased with their response. The Impact may have conceded a second goal to Maurice Edu late on, but the 2-2 tie was an acceptable result away from home.
“That shows the kind of team that we are,” Dominic Oduro said. “That shows the confidence we have in our team, in our ability to keep the ball, regardless of the numbers that we have on the field. I think Jack scored an incredible goal against his former team. He was solid for us. Overall, we did well.”
“Everything is timing, sometimes," added head coach Frank Klopas. "Our ability, with 10 guys, to score the second goal … we didn't get the three, but got the positive one point. [We can] build on that.”
