Impact midfielder Tony Donatelli scored his second goal of the season at the 33rd minute. After a series of passes in the offensive third, defender Adam Braz made the decisive pass near the penalty spot, which Donatelli deflected with a header, beating goalkeeper Caleb Patterson-Sewell to his right.
The Carolina RailHawks then scored the tying goal at the 63rd minute. Following a turnover in midfield, RailHawks midfielder John Cunliffe dribbled over 20 meters, defeating the Montreal defense before beating Impact goalkeeper Matt Jordan with a low shot to his right.
“We played well today,” declared Tony Donatelli, who was named the Carlsberg Man of the Match. “We have to take this result with a positive mindset and get closer to our objective, which is to earn a spot in the playoffs."
“Carolina is a great team and we have to be more detail-oriented if we want to beat them,” mentioned Impact head coach Marc Dos Santos. “Today, I can say that we played the full 90 minutes, but we need to be careful with the changes in momentum. The opponent made us pay on that specific detail today. I can say that I’m happy because the players were ready and did everything they could to win the match."
With this tie, the Montreal Impact remains sixth in the USL First Division standings with 33 points, one point ahead of Vancouver and two points behind Rochester.
“We are consolidating our spot in the standings, but we need to continue earning points," added Dos Santos. "We demonstrated that we can play against all teams, but we will need to step it up a bit more to beat them.”
Jordan, who faced a total of six shots, notably stood out in the last 10 minutes of the game in front of Daniel Paladini and Andriy Budnyy.
His counterpart in the opponent net Caleb Patterson-Sewell made six saves, stopping notably Impact forward Peter Byers and Eduardo Sebrango's strike.
Impact midfielder Leighton O’Brien was on the starting lineup for the first time with the club, while team captain Mauro Biello registered his first start since August 1 in Miami.
Defender Nevio Pizzolitto played his 250th career game with the Impact, becoming the second player in the club to reach that mark after Mauro Biello (339 matches).
Midfielder David Testo became the first player on the team to reach the 2,000 minutes played mark this season. In 24 matches, he has now played 2,077 minutes.
“We showed today that we are one of the top teams in the league,” noted Adam Braz. “We played them very well and I think we deserved the three points. We have every reason to be confident about our next matchup against them.”
The Impact and the RailHawks will match up again at Saputo Stadium this Wednesday, at 7:30 pm (CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990, USLlive.com).
HIGHLIGHTS
14th minute – A 20-meter free kick to the near post from Leighton O’Brien was deflected by forward Roberto Brown with a volley shot to the right of the goal.
43rd minute – After accepting a deep pass from Leighton O’Brien, forward Peter Byers unleashed a powerful strike to the far post that the RailHawks goalkeeper saved with the tip of his fingers by diving to his right.
71st minute – Following a pass by Mauro Biello behind the RailHawks defense, forward Eduardo Sebrango took a point blank shot that was stopped by Caleb Patterson-Sewell.
THE LAST FIVE REGULAR SEASON MATCHES
• Wednesday, September 2 – Carolina @ IMPACT – Saputo Stadium – 7:30 pm (CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990, USLlive.com)
• Saturday, September 5 – IMPACT @ Cleveland - Middlefield Cheese Stadium – 2 pm (USLlive.com)
• Wednesday, September 9 – Vancouver @ IMPACT –Saputo Stadium – 7:30 pm (CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990, USLlive.com)
• Sunday, September 13 – Minnesota @ IMPACT –Saputo Stadium – 3:30 pm (CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990, USLlive.com)
• Friday, September 18 – IMPACT @ Carolina – 7 pm (USLlive.com)
GAME SUMMARY
PHOTOS PÉPÉ AT SAPUTO STADIUM
-30-
Source: Patrick Vallée, Montreal Impact
Info: 514-328-3668 (Ext. 227)
