"On the goal, Mauricio Vincello tried to cut the pass but couldn't connect," said goalkeeper Greg Sutton. "I was looking at John Ball who came towards me with a diving header, and I kept my position to try to block it. He just barely flicked the ball and it went through to Delicâte."
"We saw a team that was hungry to win tonight," said head coach Nick De Santis. "They put a lot of pressure on us, and Greg kept us in the game, especially in the first half. We knew that they couldn't sustain this pressure throughout the game, and we did get three or four chances to score. But after they took the lead, we had to open up. I don't think we deserved the win tonight. But we could have maybe tried to contain them and then get a break."
With their win, the Rhinos are now six points behind the Impact, who is still in first place in USL D1 standings with 43 points. The Rhinos, however, have two games in hand.
The Rhinos maintained a steady pressure in the Impact zone throughout the game, but Impact goalkeeper Greg Sutton was dominant, intercepting many aerial balls in front of the net. Sutton also made key saves, notably against Rey Martinez (15th) and Matthew Delicâte (34th).
“We had tired legs tonight on this big field. But we have to give credit to the Rhinos, they played well tonight, with a lot of energy," said defender Lars Lyssand."In nets, Greg (Sutton) played a very good game, especially in the first half.”
It was the first time Montreal lost to the Rhinos since August 27, 2004, when the Impact suffered a 2-0 loss, in Rochester.
In the last game between the two teams, Wednesday, the Impact shut out the Rhinos 2-0 in front of a regular-season record crowd of 13,450 spectators at Claude-Robillard Sports Complex.
Midfielder Patrick Leduc left the game at the 33rd minute because of a bruised ankle. He was replaced by midfielder Mesut Mert.
After missing the last two games because of an accumulation of cards, midfielder Antonio Ribeiro was back in the line-up tonight.
The Impact will play its next game at home, Wednesday, August 16, at 7:30 pm, against the Charleston Battery at Claude-Robillard Sports Complex (RDS, Sport Plus XM-172, CJAD 800).
THE GOAL
54th minute – Following a centering pass from Rhinos defender Frankie Sanfilippo in front of the net, the ball eluded goalkeeper Greg Sutton and the Montreal defence, and Matthew Delicâte simply tapped the ball into an empty net.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
15th minute – Following a Rhino corner kick, Rey Martinez one-timed a point blank shot from inside the box, saved by a diving Sutton.
34th minute – Rhinos defender Jason Perry made a deep run on right wing and centered the ball to Matthew Delicâte, but Greg Sutton dove to his feet to cut the pass.
36th minute – Posted on the left wing in the box, Mauro Biello took a high shot that sailed over the net.
MISSING FROM THE LINE-UP
Team – Player (Position) – Reason – Status
MTL – Adam Braz (D) – groin – day to day
MTL - Daniel Antoniuk (F) – concussion – could be back Wednesday against Charleston
MTL - Gabriel Gervais (D) – groin – could be back Wednesday against Charleston
MTL - Jason DiTullio (D) – knee - season over
NEXT GAMES
Wed. August 16 – Charleston @ Impact – Claude-Robillard Sports Complex – 7:30 pm
Wed. August 23 – Impact @ Toronto – Centennial Stadium – 7:30 pm
Fri. August 25 - Virginia Beach @ Impact - Claude-Robillard Sports Complex – 7:30 pm
Sun. August 27 - Virginia Beach @ Impact – Sherbrooke University Stadium (in Sherbrooke) – 4 pm
GAME SUMMARY
www.impactmontreal.com/Tracker/Tracker.aspx?GameID=21&language=EN
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