It will be the first ever matchup between both teams. Edmonton is playing its first season in the NASL and will play its home opener at Foote Field.
Montreal will be looking for its first win of the campaign. In its last regular season game, on April 23 at Saputo Stadium, the Impact and Tampa Bay FC played to a 0-0 tie. The Impact then lost 1-0 to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, last Wednesday at Saputo Stadium, in the first leg of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship semifinal series.
“I want to see Sunday the same attitude that we have seen last Wednesday,” said Impact head coach Marc Dos Santos. “We were expecting a better Vancouver team so our level of concentration was very high throughout the game. We must go to Edmonton with the same will. Chances will come and goals will find themselves in the opponents net.”
“We played our best game of the season against Vancouver,” said Simon Gatti. “We discussed it and all agreed that we need to give the same effort on Sunday against Edmonton. We are all feeling good and this will be an important game between two new Canadian rivals.”
On last Wednesday, Edmonton was shut out 3-0 by Toronto FC, at Commonwealth Stadium, in itst first ever Nutrilite Canadian Championship game.
FC Edmonton, under the helm of head coach Harry Sinkgraven, had won its first two games of the season on the road, in Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale, before losing in Carolina.
“Edmonton is a young team with a lot of Canadian talent,” added Dos Santos. “With two wins in their first two games, we must absolutely respect their play. They have a lot of players that want to prove themselves as much as we do.”
“We are growing and we need to keep working. It’s only the beginning of the season. It’s not the time to panic,” said midfielder Leonardo Di Lorenzo. “We have to be better on the last pass to create more scoring chances. We want that first win Sunday night.”
Midfielder Hassoun Camara (thigh) and forward Reda Agourram (thigh) did not travel with the team due to injuries. Defenders Hicham Aaboubou and Richard Pelletier will serve a fourth game of suspension.
Following the game against Edmonton, the Impact will travel to Vancouver on Monday to play the second leg of the NCC semifinal game against the Whitecaps.
OTHER FACTS
• This will be the first of four games between these two clubs this season. The Impact will face FC Edmonton on June 4 at Saputo Stadium, on June 26 in Edmonton and then on September 17, again in Montreal.
• Quebec player Alex Surprenant, a former Impact defender, has registered one goal and one assist in three games with FC Edmonton.
• Midfielder Chris Lemire and forward Daniel Antoniuk, two former Impact players, also play for Edmonton, as well as forward Kyle Porter, who was on tryout with the Impact in Arizona.
NEXT THREE GAMES
• Wednesday, May 4 – IMPACT @ Vancouver Whitecaps FC – Empire Field – 11pm
• Wednesday, May 11 – New York Red Bulls @ IMPACT – Saputo Stadium – 19:30pm
• Saturday, May 14 – Carolina RailHawks @ IMPACT – Saputo Stadium – 2:30pm
Nutrilite Canadian Championship
International game
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