In its last game, the Impact made it to the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League Tuesday with a 0-0 tie (1-0 aggregate goals) against the Real Estelí, the Nicaraguan champion club, at Carlos Miranda Stadium, in Honduras.
“What we have accomplished Tuesday is great for the club,” said midfielder Leonardo Di Lorenzo. “It’s also good for the team’s confidence as we are getting better every day. Now we will not only need points in the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League, but also in our league because our playoff spot is not yet guaranteed.”
Impact head coach John Limniatis will miss Friday’s game since he will be serving a one-game suspension due to his ejection from the last game in North Carolina, on August 30. This is his second suspension this season. Assistant coach Andrea Di Pietrantonio will be behind the bench.
Defenders Nevio Pizzolitto and Simon Gatti are also suspended. Pizzolitto is serving a three-game suspension for elbowing RailHawks forward Ronal Cerritos, while Gatti will miss one game due to an accumulation of five yellow cards.
“It’s a team that is still fighting for a playoff spot and that should play desperately by attacking, so we will have to stay organised defensively,” said assistant coach Andrea Di Pietrantonio. “A few Thunder players have played in Montreal so we know them well.”
The Impact has a lifetime record of four wins, three losses and three ties in 10 games against Minnesota (17 GF-9 GA). In four games at home, the Impact is undefeated against the Thunder (3-0-1; 10GF-1GA). However, in the first game between both teams, May 10 at James Griffin Stadium, the Impact was shut out 1-0.
“We also want to make up for the result we got there, added Di Pietrantonio. It will be important that the players who will be called to play give energy to those who have been on the field a lot lately.”
“Those who played less since the beginning of the season will probably have the chance to have more playing time, so it is up to us to work well and help the team get as many points as possible,” said rookie defender Alex Surprenant. “It will be important to have all players off the injury list because the games will follow one another very fast. We will have to keep our concentration on the upcoming game, be it a CONCACAF club or a team at the bottom of the USL standings.”
The Impact will establish Friday a new attendance record at home, currently at 161,762 fans, set in 2006. The club has sold 152,927 tickets so far this season (difference of 8,835) with three regular season games to play at Saputo Stadium. For the 10th time this season, all 13,034 tickets at Saputo Stadium have been sold.
Exceptionally, the gates of Saputo Stadium will open at 7 pm since the Honduran team will train at 6 pm. Honduras will face Canada Saturday night at Saputo Stadium in a qualifying game for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
OTHER FACTS
• In its last season game, August 30, the Impact shut out the Carolina RailHawks 2-0 at WakeMed Park. The Impact has signed five wins in its last six regular season games (5-1-0; 12GF – 4GA).
• The Impact is first in the USL D1 standings in goals conceded at home (8) and in goal-average allowed at Saputo Stadium (0.67).
• In the second half of the season, the Impact is the team that has won the most games (6), tied with Puerto Rico, Vancouver and Rochester. The Impact is also second in the goal scored average per game (1.78) since mid-season.
• Defenders Andres Arango and Paul Moran, as well as forward Frederico Moojen played with the Impact last season.
• The Thunder is playing the first game of a two-game trip in Canada, as it will face the Vancouver Whitecaps Sunday.
• Ricardo Sanchez leads Minnesota in goals (9) and points (22).
NEXT GAMES
• 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)
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Source: Patrick Vallée, Montreal Impact
Info: 514-328-3668, Ext. 227
