Impact midfielder Joey Gjertsen scored the game-winning goal at the 42nd minute. Gjertsen took advantage of a ball poorly cleared by the Real Esteli defense and took a volley shot of about 18 meters that beat Real Esteli goalkeeper Carlos Mendieta to his right.
“We won this game by putting pressure on the Real Esteli,” said Impact head coach John Limniatis. To beat us, they will now need to score three goals during the return game. This win gives us the latitude either to make a tie over there or score to take a more comfortable lead. Even though we didn’t play well tonight, we were nevertheless a better team on the field.”
“From a player’s perspective, we didn’t play our best game because I think we were a little bit nervous,” said veteran defender Nevio Pizzolitto. “In the first half, we played well but in the second half, we let the forwards advance. Lacking concentration, we almost allowed a goal, which is unacceptable at home. The important thing today is the win and we are going to Honduras with the desire to win the series.”
The Impact dominated the Real Estelí 24-14 in shots on goal. Impact goalkeeper Matt Jordan registered the shutout for the Impact.
For the ninth time this season, the Impact game was sold out Wednesday, all 13,034 available tickets having been sold.
The second game to move to the group phase will be played Tuesday, September 2 at Carlos Miranda Stadium, in Comayagua, Honduras, since no stadium in Nicaragua met FIFA standards. The game will start at 10 pm (Eastern Time) and will be one-hour tape delayed (11 pm) on Radio-Canada Television.
HIGHLIGHTS
23rd minute – Leonardo Di Lorenzo centered the ball on the left wing in the box towards Roberto Brown, who took a header that sailed above the Real Estelí goal.
24th minute – After defeating two Real Estelí defenders, midfielder Joey Gjertsen took a low shot of about 10 meters, but the ball was collected by the Nicaraguan goalkeeper Carlos Mendieta, with a dive to his right.
75th minute – Real Estelí midfielder Samuel Wilson fired a 20-meter shot that was deflected by an Impact defender just above the crossbar.
82nd minute – Midfielder David Testo took a cross shot on the left wing that was deflected on a Real Estelí defender, which was then stopped by Mendieta with a dive to his left.
84th minute – From the penalty box, Impact forward Severino Jefferson took a point blank shot that Mendieta stopped by diving to the ground.
GAME SUMMARY
PÉPÉ'S PHOTOS AT STADE SAPUTO
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Source: Patrick Vallée, Montreal Impact
Info: 514-328-3668 (ext. 227)
