Though Jack McInerney’s contract situation played into the deal, last week’s Philadelphia-Montréal swap is really a baseball-esque challenge trade. McInerney had gone cold in for the Union, while Wenger had failed to live up to the potential the Impact saw when drafting him number one. Take mine, give me yours, and let’s see if we can make something of our underperforming forwards.
New scenery brought new results on Saturday, with McInerney (pictured with Philadelphia, right) coming good in the first half against visiting Chicago:
Okay, so it wasn’t the best finish ever, but at least he got it on target, something Wenger had trouble doing in during his tenure in Montréal.
But just as “Jack Mac” was seeing early, new life in Quebec, Wenger looked like a different man in Philadelphia. With Real Salt Lake in town, Wenger tested Jeff Attinella’s cross-bar early ...
… before pulling back Luke Mulholland’s early opener in the second half:
So far, so good for both guys. While MacInerney was largely silent in Montréal, he delivered when it counted, taking advantage of a great read from Marco Di Vaio. Wenger, on the other hand, was been involved in three or four scoring chances, and while his troubling finishing was been evident in the two tries he failed to get on target, his second half score gave Union fans hope their team’s striker problems are being solved.
Philadelphia ended up earning a 2-2 draw at home, while Montréal was left drawn 1-1 against Chicago.
