SUMMARY
Defender Mauricio Vincello opened the scoring for the Impact in the 26th minute of play. After accepting a pass from Adam Braz, Vincello fired a low shot from 30 metres that deflected off of a Charleston defender. Charleston goalkeeper Chris Doyle dove to his left, but was beaten to his right by the deflection.
In the 30th minute, Ali Gerba doubled the Impact’s lead on a counter attack. Nevio Pizzolitto delivered a long ball to Ali Gerba, who found himself alone in front of the net after dribbling Charleston defender Tim Karalexis between the legs.
In the second half, the Battery mounted a comeback. Midfielder Josh Smith reduced the lead in the 57th minute of play when he beat Impact goalkeeper Andrew Olivieri with a shot just under the crossbar.
Later, Impact defender Mauricio Vincello scored an own goal in the 78th minute. Posted just outside of Olivieri’s box, Charleston midfielder Gabe Bernstein centred the ball toward the penalty area. After a scramble, Vincello knocked the ball into his own net while trying to clear the ball off the line.
Midfielder Sandro Grande put the Impact back on top in the 84th minute when he fired a shot into the top-right hand corner of the net on a free kick. Grande, who missed the last five games because of a groin injury, was substituted into the game at the 66th minute.
Forward Eduardo Sebrango scored the insurance goal in stoppage time off a break down the right side of the field.
This was Impact goalkeeper Andrew Olivieri’s first start since August 25th, 2004.
The last time the Impact scored four goals dates back to May 28, 2004 in a 4-1 win over the Toronto Lynx at the Claude-Robillard Sports Complex.
This was the second largest crowd in club history for a regular season game. The new record of 12,086 fans was established this year, on May 29, for the home opener.
The Impact will play its next game on the road, Thursday, June 30, when it will face the Timbers in Portland (10 pm). The Impact will return home on July 3 in a rematch of last year’s final against the Seattle Sounders (7 pm, CJAD, CKAC).
In the meantime, the Montreal Impact will play a promotional game during the “Soccer Extravaganza” event, which will take place June 25, at 2 pm, at Riverside Field, in LaSalle. All profits from the game will be donated to the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation. Montreal Impact president Joey Saputo will be the honorary chairman of the event.
COMMENTS
Impact head coach Nick De Santis: “We had to attack, and that is exactly what we did for the entire 90 minutes. We never stopped, even after giving up the two goals. It is a well-deserved win after 19 days off. On the whole, it was a positive victory for the team's moral and for our confidence.”
Sandro Grande : “I was very anxious to play. It wasn’t the most ideal situation for me to make my return, but when I got the chance to take the shot, I told myself I could not miss this opportunity.”
Andrew Olivieri : “We wanted a good result tonight and, in general, we did not let our fans down. The Battery changed their strategy during the game, trying to beat me with high balls in the box. We allowed two goals in, but we got the win and that’s what counts.”
GOALS
MTL: Mauricio Vincello (Adam Braz) 26
MTL: Ali Gerba (Nevio Pizzolitto) 30
CHB: Josh Smith 57
CHB: Mauricio Vincello (own goal) 78
MTL: Sandro Grande 84
MTL: Eduardo Sebrango 90
IMPACT LINE-UP
Andrew Olivieri, Gabriel Gervais, Mauricio Vincello, Adam Braz, Nevio Pizzolitto, Masahiro Fukasawa (Antonio Ribeiro 82), Patrick Leduc, Zé Roberto, Mesut Mert (Sandro Grande 66), Mauro Biello (Eduardo Sebrango 60), Ali Gerba (Adrian Cann 89)
CHARLESTON LINE-UP
Chris Doyle, Ben Hollingsworth, Tim Karalexis, Drew Kopp, Gabe Berstein (Andres Perez 77), Justin Evans, Ugo Okoye (Kevin Jackson 73), Josh Smith, Jesus Martinez (Troy Lesesne 69), Lazo Alavanja, Alon Lubezky (Chris Goos 85)
SHOTS: CHB 11 MTL 14
SAVES: CHB 7 MTL 7
FOULS: CHB 10 MTL 16
OFFSIDES: CHB 3 MTL 2
CORNERS: CHB 4 MTL 2
CAUTIONS
CHB: Lazo Alavanja 55
MTL: Nevio Pizzolitto 57
MTL: Zé Roberto 61
CHB: Justin Evans 83
CHB: Troy Lesesne 86
REFEREES
Mauricio Navaro, Guy Verna, Pierre Cantave, Carolanne Chénard
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Source: Patrick Vallée
Info: 514-328-3668 (ext. 27)
