On the play, forward Dwight Barnett, who came into the game in the 75th minute, slipped the ball deep on the right wing to Joey Gjertsen who beat goalkeeper Bill Gaudette with a high shot. It was Gjertsen's first career goal with the Impact.
The Impact played with a man down from the 40th minute mark when forward Roberto Brown was ejected from the game for a foul against midfielder Osei Telesford.
“We held on and we believed in the win,” said Montreal Impact head coach Nick De Santis. “It was an incredible effort from all players. After losing a game we should have won last week, tonight was a big test for us but we were successful. We suffered defensively in the past few games but tonight, we showed a lot of discipline.”
Goalkeeper Matt Jordan, who was back in nets after having missed the previous match due to a back injury, notably blocked a penalty kick in the 32nd minute. Jordan dove to his right to stop Victor Herrera’s low shot. The penalty was awarded when moments before, Impact defender Gabriel Gervais committed a foul on forward Fabrice Noel in the box, deep in the Impact zone, near the goal line.
“All credit goes to the guys in front of me, they were warriors tonight,” said Jordan, who registered his first shutout of the season. “We fought with heart, we’re proud of the effort and it’s something for us to build upon and carry this momentum to the next week.”
In the absence of injured defender Nevio Pizzolitto, Italian defender Stefano Pesoli started the game with Gabriel Gervais as central defenders.
It was also the first start of the season for team captain Mauro Biello and midfielder Pato Aguilera.
The Impact remains undefeated in 12 regular season games against Puerto Rico with a record of 9-0-3 (16GF-4GA).
The team will play the fifth of six straight games on the road, Saturday, May 10, against the Minnesota Thunder, at 8 pm. The Impact will play its home opener at Saputo Stadium Monday, May 19, at 3 pm, against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
HIGHLIGHTS
11th minute – Midfielder Mauro Biello took a low shot from the top of he box that Islanders goalkeeper Bill Gaudette stopped, diving to his right.
62nd minute – On a long centering pass from Islanders defender Scott Jones, goalkeeper Matt Jordan came out of the box to punch out the ball.
65th minute – Islanders midfielder Osei Telesford took a low shot from 30 metres out that went just wide left of the Impact net.
72nd minute – After receiving a pass from Charles Gbeke, midfielder Joey Gjertsen took a high shot from the right side that sailed over the net.
GAME SUMMARY
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Source : Patrick Vallée, Montreal Impact
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