HOUSTON, Texas – In a hotly contested matchup, the Montreal Impact (12-15-5) earned a point on the road in 1-1 draw (half-time 1-0) with the Houston Dynamo (13-8-11), at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas. With only two games remaining this season, the draw officially eliminates the Impact from postseason contention.
Dynamo forward Will Bruin buried his 12th goal of the season in the 44th minute to open the scoring. Forward Calen Carr dribbled down the left flank and deep in Impact territory, played a cross to Bruin, who one-timed the ball towards goal from inside the six-yard box, to the left of goalkeeper Troy Perkins.
Then in the second half, just a few moments after moving up to forward from midfield, Sanna Nyassi levelled the score. Forward Marco Di Vaio played a deep ball for Nyassi who controlled the ball in order to break in alone in front of Tally Hall. The Dynamo goalkeeper blocked Nyassi’s first shot, but the Gambian forward made good on the rebound to score his sixth goal of the season, a personal best for him, into an empty net.
With the result, the Dynamo remains undefeated at home this season with a 10-0-6 record.
Post-game comments
“The Dynamo battled and they deserved a win tonight,” said Impact head coach Jesse Marsch, who was ejected towards the end of the match. “It was a little disappointing because we know what position we are in now. We needed to win, but one point in Houston is very respectable. We will continue to battle to ensure we finish first for the Canadian Championship in 2013.”
“Tonight, it was a game of two different halves. We dominated and they scored, then in the second half, they dominated but we scored,” said Bernier. “In the final 10 minutes, the game was crazy and we gave it our all.”
“We knew we needed to win. The game was fast and we expected that. We tried everything to get the three points,” said Calum Mallace who started a second game this season.
Other highlights
In the 15th minute, Impact midfielder Sanna Nyassi broke in on goal, but Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall charged out of his net to cut the angle and prevent Nyassi from taking a good shot on goal.
Perkins answered back with a save of his own in the 19th minute when he deflected the ball over the cross bar off of a header from Macoumba Kandji - originating from a free-kick.
In the 24th minute, Calum Mallace fired a hard shot from about 30 metres out, but Hall was in a good position to make the grab.
The Impact gave everything it had in the final 10 minutes of the game to try and break the deadlock. In the 86th minute, midfielder Justin Mapp elected to shoot on a two on one that was stopped by Hall.
Froward Andrew Wenger and midfielder Calum Mallace, this year’s first and second round MLS SuperDraft picks, started for the road team. Mallace played alongside Patrice Bernier in midfield, while Wenger joined Marco Di Vaio on top in a 4-4-2 formation.
Midfielders Collen Warner and Felipe did not make the trip to Houston. Warner was serving a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation, while Felipe is nursing a groin injury.
Defender Jeb Brovsky, who played in his 50th career MLS game, attained the 2,000 minutes played plateau this season. Midfielder Patrice Bernier also reached the milestone.
Next game
The Impact will have another two-week break from regular season action before it plays its next match on October 20, against Toronto FC, at BMO Field, at 1:30pm (ET). The game will be broadcast live on TSN/RDS and will be available on illico web.
The Impact will then make its way back home to Stade Saputo to play its final game of the season against the New England Revolution, on October 27, at 2pm (ET). Individual tickets are available via admission.com or by calling 1-855-790-1245.
Priority list for the Montreal Impact's 2013 season tickets is now available with a $50 deposit by contacting the sales team at 514-328-3668. It is also possible to renew your season tickets for 2013 by contacting the club before October 19, 2012. Also, follow the Impact by downloading the club’s new mobile app powered by Videotron and available free for Android and iOS.
Impact Academy
The Impact U18 team (0-1-4) played to a draw while the U16 side (2-3-0) fell 3-1 on Saturday to BW Gottschee Academy, in a double header at Lubetkin Field, in New Jersey. Michael-Ricci Jean-Charles scored for the Impact in the second game.
The two sides will play Met Oval on Sunday, in Maspeth, New York. The U18s take the pitch at noon, while the U16s play at 2:30pm (ET).
Already qualified for the playoffs, the Impact U21 (12-3-5) look to extended its winning streak to eight games on Sunday, at 2pm (ET), facing SC Toronto (14-3-2) at the Outremont recreation centre. The game is open to the public and admission is free.
Lineups
MTL: GK – Troy Perkins; D – Jeb Brovsky, Alessandro Nesta (Lamar Neagle 45’), Matteo Ferrari, Hassoun Camara; M – Sanna Nyassi, Patrice Bernier, Calum Mallace, Davy Arnaud; F– Marco Di Vaio, Andrew Wenger (Justin Mapp 65’)
Subs not used: GK – Evan Bush; D – Shavar Thomas, Zarek Valentin; M – Sinisa Ubiparipovic, Josh Gardner
HOU: GK – Tally Hall; D – Kofi Sarkodie, Bobby Boswell, Jermaine Taylor, Corey Ashe; M – Boniek Garcia, Adam Moffat (Warren Creavalle 89’), Ricardo Clark; F – Calen Carr, Will Bruin (Cam Weaver 72’), Macoumba Kandji (Brian Ching 72’)
Subs not used: GK – Tyler Deric; D – Andre Hainault; M – Giles Barnes, Colin Clark,
Goals
HOU – Bruin (Carr, Ashe) 44’
MTL – Nyassi (sans aide) 66’
Cautions
MTL – Nyassi 65’
MTL – Ferrari 71’
Ejection
MTL – Jesse Marsch
