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Austin Aztex FC fall 4-0 in Montreal and suffer first defeat of season

May 17, 2009 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Austin Aztex News Release


MONTREAL, Canada - In a season of firsts, the Austin Aztex FC saw an unfortunate yet inevitable first on Sunday afternoon as the team endured its first loss of the season, a tough 4-0 defeat on the road against the Montreal Impact in front of 11,470 at Saputo Stadium.

Despite heading into the matchup against a struggling Montreal side, which released its head coach earlier in the week, Aztex Head Coach Adrian Heath and his squad knew the first road contest of the young season would provide more than its share of challenges. In addition to the expected challenges any road team faces, Heath and the Aztex came into the matchup with a roster that didn't look like any of the previous lineups used back in Austin. Unfortunately, it wasn't by choice.

Three starters (forward Sullivan Silva, midfielder Yordany Alvarez, and defender Kieron Bernard) didn't make the trip because of travel permit issues. In addition, the main cog of the Aztex front line, Gifton Noel-Williams, was absent from the lineup after suffering an injury late in the week back in Austin. Starting defender Lyle Adams also didn't make the trip to attend his college graduation.

In spite of the seriously altered roster, which included a pair of players that had been called up from the Aztex U23 squad, Austin managed to stay competitive early despite playing much of the first half on its end of the field. At the half, the game remained scoreless only on the strength of strong play from Aztex goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo who denied the Impact on multiple scoring opportunities in the half.

In the second half, Gallardo wasn't as fortunate.

The Impact came out even more aggressive than it had to start the matchup. Instead of making multiple passes and trying to find the open man before ever getting a shot off on goal, Montreal players peppered Gallardo with shots from all different angles. In the 51st minute, the Impact earned its first tally of the match when midfielder Stephen deRoux sent a cross in front of Gallardo. Gallardo deflected the ball and it fell in front of Montreal striker Roberto Brown. Brown deposited the ball in the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. Montreal was just getting started.

Just more than five minutes later on a quick counterattack, Impact goalkeeper found deRoux streaking up the left side of the field without an Aztex defender nearby. deRoux then passed to Brown further up the field, who then sent a cross to midfielder Joey Gjertsen for a one-timer past a helpless Gallardo.

Montreal added another goal five minutes later on a long strike from forward Tony Donatelli before capping off the offensive showcase in the 89th minute on a goal from Simon Gatti.

With the result, the Aztex fall to 1-1-3 on the season. The team returns to action next Sunday (May 24) back at home against the Carolina Railhawks. Kickoff is set for 6 PM.



USL First Division Stories from May 17, 2009


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