Midfielder David Testo (44th minute), forward Severino Jefferson (64th minute) and defender Stefano Pesoli (81st minute) scored for the Impact, while lone goal for the Miami FC came from an Impact own goal (59th minute).
“We followed the game plan well, spreading out the field as much as possible, said assistant coach Andrea Di Pietrantonio, who was replacing at the helm of the team head coach John Limniatis suspended for one game. We didn’t give them many scoring chances tonight. If they had scored on the penalty, it would have been a different game. We were unlucky in the last few games, so we’ll take luck on our side tonight.”
On the first goal sequence, forward Severino Jefferson first hit the post to the left of Miami FC goalkeeper Josh Saunders. Testo then took the rebound and fired a low canon shot of about 25 meters, which bounced off on defender Eric Brunner, before going over Saunders who dove to attempt a save.
Miami FC equalized the score in a corner kick situation, when midfielder Leo Inacio Nunes’ shot was deflected in front of the net by Impact defender Nevio Pizzolitto, as he was marking Miami FC forward Sean Fraser.
Severino Jefferson scored the winning goal midway through the second half. After having accepted a back-pass from forward Roberto Brown, Jefferson fired a strong 25-meter low shot that went to the right of goalkeeper Josh Saunders.
Defender Stefano Pesoli scored the insurance goal in the 81st minute when he deflected with a header a corner kick from Joey Gjertsen, beating Saunders to his left.
Earlier, in the first half, Miami FC received a penalty shot, but forward Alex Afonso’s shot sailed over the net, while Matt Jordan dove on the same side. Jordan had previously tackled forward Sean Fraser in the penalty box, as both players attempted to take possession of a pass from midfielder Eric Vasquez.
“We came out with a lot of spirit tonight and I think we are going to gain a lot of confidence from this game,” said goalkeeper Matt Jordan, who registered his 15th career win with the Impact. “If you are not 100% focused, they can punish you very quickly and they almost did a couple times. On the penalty kick, I tried to stand him up as long as possible. I don’t know if it affected him, but I’m happy he put the ball over the bar.”
“We played well tonight,” said defender Simon Gatti. “In the last two games, we dominated but we could not score a goal. Tonight, we scored three beautiful goals and defensively we also played well, so the result is a win.”
The Impact remained undefeated in three games this season against the Florida team, having also registered a 2-1 win, April 19, and tied 0-0, June 4. The Impact now has a lifetime record of 4-0-4 (7GF–2GA).
Midfielder Leonardo Di Lorenzo started his first career game with the Impact as left defender. He played all 90 minutes of the match.
The Impact will play its next game against the Toronto FC, Tuesday, at BMO Field (7 pm, CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990, cbc.ca), in the decisive game of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship. The Impact needs to either beat or tie the Toronto FC to win the tournament.
HIGHLIGHTS
8th minute – After accepting a deep pass, Miami FC forward Sean Fraser took a point blank shot from inside the box, but Impact goalkeeper Matt Jordan redirected the ball above the net.
12th minute – Impact midfielder Joey Gjertsen took advantage of a poorly cleared ball to make a volley shot of about 20 meters that sailed to the left of the Miami FC goal.
52nd minute – Miami FC midfielder Leo Inacio Nunes took a free kick that sailed just above the Impact goal.
76th minute – Midfielder Joey Gjertsen outplayed a Miami FC defender before firing a strong shot of about 20 meters, but Saunders made the save, diving to his right.
GAME SUMMARY
PHOTOS PÉPÉ AT SAPUTO STADIUM
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Source : Patrick Vallée, Montreal Impact
Info : 514-328-3668 (ext. 227)
