FC Edmonton, who remains in second place in the NASL standings, opened the scoring at the 5th minute on what became the game-winning goal. Midfielder Kyle Porter took a hard shot from 35 meters out that beat goalkeeper Evan Bush to his left. It was Porter’s fifth goal of the season.
At the 18th minute, Edmonton was awarded a penalty after defender Hassoun Camara made contact with a FC Edmonton player in the 18-yard box. Bush, who was named the NASL Defensive Player of the Week, dove to his left to stop the shot from midfielder Chris Kooy.
“The game played itself in the first 25 minutes of play. We put ourselves in a difficult position at the beginning of the game," said Impact head coach Marc Dos Santos. "Their goal put doubts in our minds. Overall, the first half was difficult while we were a lot more dominant and more aggressive offensively in the second half of the game. Unfortunately, we couldn’t put one in their net.”
“We are currently going through a rough time, but we must continue to fight," added Dos Santos. "Nobody must doubt it. Again, we will need to win our home games, starting with the three points against Puerto Rico on Wednesday.”
The Impact got its best scoring opportunity of the first half at the 36th minute when midfielder Anthony Le Gall’s shot to the far post was stopped by goalkeeper Rein Baart, who dove to his right.
Midfielder Antonio Ribeiro then saw his shot saved by Baart at the 53rd minute following a cross from Leonardo Di Lorenzo.
At the 82nd minute, midfielder Wandrille Lefevre headed a free kick from midfielder Luke Kreamalmayer only a few inches from the FC Edmonton net. Lefevre played his first career game in North American second division after replacing interim team captain David Testo at the 81st minute.
Kreamalmeyer played for the first time since May 21 when he came on the field at the 62nd minute in replacement of Idriss Ech Chergui, after missing six games due to a foot injury.
Amir Lowery started his first game of the season as central defender, while Mircea Ilcu, who replaced Leonardo Di Lorenzo at the 71st minute, played his second career game with the first team.
It was the third of four matchups between both teams in 2011. Impact won the first two games by shutout: 5-0, on May 1 in Edmonton, and then 2-0, on June 4 at Saputo Stadium.
Goalkeeper Bill Gaudette, defenders Nevio Pizzolitto and Richard Pelletier, as well as forwards Ali Gerba, Reda Agourram and Pierre-Rudolph Mayard missed the game due to injuries.
The team will play its next home game at Saputo Stadium against the Puerto Rico Islanders, on Wednesday, June 29, at 7:30pm (Radio-Canada, CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990, radio-canada.ca/sports). Tickets for this game are still available through Admission Network (admission.com / 514-790-1245) or at Saputo Stadium’s ticketing office.
THREE NEXT GAMES
• Wednesday, June 29 – Puerto Rico Islanders @ IMPACT – Saputo Stadium – 7:30pm (CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990, radio-canada.ca/sports)
• Saturday, July 3 – IMPACT @ Carolina RailHawks – WakeMed Soccer Park – 7pm (carolinarailhawks.com)
• Wednesday, July 13 – Fort Lauderdale Strikers @ IMPACT – Saputo Stadium – 7:30pm (CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990, radio-canada.ca/sports)
GAME SUMMARY
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