The Impact now has to beat or tie the Toronto FC to win the tournament.
“We are going into that game looking to win,” said defender Adam Braz, who will face his former team for the second time. “It’s good because we put ourselves in a position that going into the last game we have a chance to qualify. We all have to understand what the situation is and make sure we all show up to play and put in the effort. It’s a chance for us to prove that we are the best team in Canada but also a huge honour to represent Canada in the CONCACAF Champions League.”
“It’s a very important game and it’s like a finale for us. For a player, it’s always special to play a game like this,” said Impact team captain Mauro Biello, who decided to have a wrist surgery after that game, on July 25. “We want to show that we are a quality team by winning this championship. I think that pressure is more on Toronto because they have to score. I hope that we can take advantage of the openings they will create by trying to open the game.”
In its first three games of the tournament, the Impact lost 1-0 against Toronto, May 27 at Saputo Stadium, then won two games by a 2-0 score against the Vancouver Whitecaps, June 17 at home, and June 25, on the road.
In the first matchup against the Toronto FC, defender Marco Velez scored the lone goal of the match in the 72nd minute after deflecting a 20-meter free kick from midfielder Laurent Robert. The Impact lost one player in the 53rd minute when defender Stefano Pesoli was ejected from the game after receiving his second caution.
“It would be great to eliminate a MLS team,” said midfielder Rocco Placentino. “We will go there and play our style and hopefully we will get a good result. In any sport, if you don’t get scored on you never lose so it should be our main goal for Tuesday. I love playing against teams where you have their fans on your back because it gives you a boost. I’m really looking forward for that game.”
In its last game, Saturday, Toronto tied the San Jose Earthquakes 0-0. The Toronto FC has not won in its last eight games (0-5-3), including five regular season games. But Toronto has not lost in nine regular season games played at home (5-0-4).
Note that the first-place team will be awarded the Voyageurs Cup trophy. The tournament winner will then face in a home-and-away series the Nicaraguan champion team.
OTHER FACTS
• Impact midfielder Tony Donatelli will not be available for the game because he took part in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship games with the Vancouver Whitecaps before being traded to the Impact, June 30.
• Five Impact players have played all 270 minutes of the first three games of the tournament: goalkeeper Matt Jordan, defenders Adam Braz and Simon Gatti, as well as midfielders Patrick Leduc and David Testo.
• Leduc is the single Impact player who has played and started all 19 Impact games, including the three Nutrilite Canadian championship games. Since the beginning of the season, he played 1,686 minutes on a possibility of 1,710 minutes.
• Former Impact goalkeeper Greg Sutton has a 4-4-3 record in 11 games this season and has a 1.36 goals allowed average. Last season, he played only eight games due to a concussion.
• Forward Dany Dicchio leads Toronto with five goals in 13 games. He did not play Saturday’s game due to a concussion.
NEXT GAMES
• Friday, July 25 – IMPACT @ Rochester – PAETEC Park – 8:00 pm (FSW)
• Sunday, July 27 – Rochester @ IMPACT – 3:30 pm (CKAC Sports – THE TEAM 990, USLlive.com)
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Source: Patrick Vallée, Montreal Impact
Info: 514-328-3668, Ext. 227
