Joel John Bailey, with his second of the season, scored the winner at the 47th minute of play, and Sandro Grande added the insurance goal at the 83rd minute, his first in a Montreal uniform. Head coach Nick DeSantis’ squad clinched the win in spite of Patrick Leduc’s ejection at the 69th minute.
"Our ball control wasn’t very good in the first half, but we told ourselves at halftime that we needed to dictate the pace of the game in the second half," said DeSantis. "Our first goal was crucial, it took away a lot of the pressure."
Impact goalkeeper Greg Sutton collected his sixth shutout in seven starts this season, the 33rd of his career with Montreal. He is only one perfect game away from the club record of 34 career shutouts, held by Paolo Ceccarelli.
"In spite of the ejection, we kept our defensive shape and players like Gabe (Gervais) and Nevio (Pizzolitto) were dominant once again on the back line,"noted Grande. "But it was also important to keep attacking, to get some goals."
The Impact stretched its undefeated streak to seven games (6-0-1), tying a club record. This is the 8th time in club history that the record has been tied, after being first established in 1993. However, it is only the second time that the Impact has such a streak at the beginning of the season. The first time was in 1998.
"We didn’t talk about the record, but it’s only normal when you win games that these things happen," said DeSantis. "But the most important thing for us is to keep getting better and better."
The result gives the Impact a one-point lead over the Kickers on top of Eastern Conference standings, 19 points to 18. The Kickers, who suffered their first loss on the road this season (3-1-2), have played four more games than Montreal. The Rochester Rhinos had 19 points before facing the Atlanta Silverbacks, later Sunday evening.
On the first goal, Mauro Biello sent a through ball on the right side to Fred Commodore. Commodore’s shot forced Kickers goalkeeper Ronnie Pascale to make a diving save and push the ball to his right, but Bailey was there to pick up the rebound.
Kickers midfielder David Hayes broke away at the 69th minute, but he was brought down by Patrick Leduc just before reaching the penalty area. Leduc earned a red card on the play and the Impact had to play one man down for the rest of the match-up.
In spite of the disadvantage, the Impact continued to push forward, and earned a free kick just outside the penalty area at the 83rd minute. Grande placed the ball in the upper right corner on a crisp shot that didn’t leave Pascale a chance to react.
The Impact’s next home game will be on Sunday, June 20 at 4 pm against the Toronto Lynx. In the meantime, the Montreal squad will be going on a three-game road trip in Western Canada, slated to kick off this Friday in Vancouver. Match-ups will follow in Calgary, Sunday (4 pm), and in Edmonton, on Tuesday, June 15 (10 pm).
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SOURCE:
bcomm
INFO:
Stéphane Banfi
514-328-3668 (ext. 27)
