The Impact shut out Real Estelí, 1-0 (halftime 1-0), Wednesday at Saputo Stadium, in the first game of the series. Midfielder Joey Gjertsen scored the game-winning goal in the 42nd minute.
“We had a decent idea of what to expect in the first game but now we know a lot more,” said head coach John Limniatis. “The idea is to do very well because if we play well, we have nothing to fear. When you score, you always have good chances to win so that’s what we are going to do. The referees, the temperature and the field are all factors that we cannot control, so we are going to adjust to it.”
“Taking into consideration our first game, we have to move the ball better and create more scoring chances," said defender Nevio Pizzolitto. “Defensively we did fine, but we will have to be careful and avoid making mistakes. This game is very important for the club and it will prove to a lot of people that we are a first class organization.”
Midfielder Sandro Grande, who missed the last game in Carolina Saturday, due to a light ankle sprain, should play on Tuesday.
“We have to come out more aggressively and up the pace of the game to have success because they are not used to that,” noted Grande. “We will play our style of game and pressure them for 90 minutes because they are used to play the ball around slowly. We could make history for Canadian soccer so our goal is to give our best for all Canada.”
Forward Roberto Brown and defender Stefano Pesoli, who did not travel to Carolina, joined the team in Honduras Sunday and may start the game.
But again, a few regular Impact players will be out of the lineup due to injuries: defenders Adam Braz and Gabriel Gervais, as well as midfielders Rocco Placentino, Mauro Biello and Patrick Leduc.
“Winning is the ultimate goal we want to achieve because it will give us the opportunity of playing six games in the group stage, which will give very good visibility to the club. Tomorrow’s game is the most important game in club history,” concluded Limniatis.
The team that wins the series will reach the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League. The group stage consists of four groups of four. All the teams in each group will play each other in a round-robin system during six match dates (three home games, three away games) from September 16 to October 30.
NEXT GAMES
• Friday, September 5 – Minnesota @ IMPACT – 7:30 pm (Radio-Canada, FSW, CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990)
• Monday, September 8 – Portland @ IMPACT – 7:30 pm (CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990, USLlive.com)
• Wednesday, September 10 – IMPACT @ Seattle – 10 pm (USLlive.com)
• Saturday, September 13 – IMPACT @ Vancouver – 10 pm (USLlive.com)
-30-
Source: Patrick Vallée, Montreal Impact
Info: 514-328-3668, Ext. 227
