ORLANDO, Florida – After showing tremendous determination last Saturday in Kansas City to earn a precious road point, the Impact is back on the road this Saturday at 7:30pm EDT, against Orlando City SC, at the Orlando City Stadium (TVA Sports [pregame at 7pm], 98.5fm, TSN Radio 690).
“We want to build on our momentum and grow as a team,” said Montreal Impact head coach Mauro Biello. “The mindset is good in the team. When you have players with less playing time that come into the game and do the job, it pushes everyone. We want to be a team that can adapt to every moment. That’s the reason we have our principles of play in place.”
“We got a good result in Kansas City with a good point on the road,” said midfielder Blerim Dzemaili. “We also did well in the last five games. There’s not a lot missing, but we can always improve. We’re going in the right direction and we have to keep going.”
Good momentum
The Bleu-blanc-noir is currently in a three-game unbeaten streak, across all competitions, winning 4-2 in the Canadian Championship against Vancouver on May 30 and 1-0 against the New York Red Bulls on June 3 at Stade Saputo, as well as registering a 1-1 tie at the Children’s Mercy Park.
Many players are coming back
Head coach Mauro Biello will be able to count on the return of his international players, except for defender Ambroise Oyongo, who suffered a knee injury with Cameroon, in a game against Morocco on June 10. Laurent Ciman (Belgium), Blerim Dzemaili (Switzerland), as well as Canadians Patrice Bernier, Anthony Jackson-Hamel and Maxime Crépeau will all be available for Saturday’s game.
Last week, forward Matteo Mancosu and winger Andres Romero were also back in action and got some playing time in Kansas City. For the Argentine, it was his first minutes since October 10, 2015.
Defender Chris Duvall will not be available for Saturday’s match-up due to an automatic one-game suspension following the red card he received in Kansas City.
First of two games against Orlando
It will be the first of two games against Orlando City SC this year. The Florida squad is currently fourth in the Eastern Conference with seven wins - six at home - five losses and three draws.
Last time both teams faced each other in Orlando, on October 2, 2016, the Impact won 1-0 on a goal by Dominic Oduro.
Upcoming game
The Impact will play its next game at Stade Saputo on Wednesday, June 21, at 7:30pm EDT, against Toronto FC, in the first leg of the Canadian Championship final (RDS, TSN, 98.5fm, TSN Radio 690). Excellent tickets for this final, as well as prorated season tickets, are available impactmontreal.com.
