Impact Faces Cleveland Wednesday
Published on July 21, 2009 under USL First Division (USL-1)
Montreal Impact News Release
MONTREAL - The Montreal Impact (5-8-3) plays against the Cleveland City Stars (2-10-6), Wednesday at Saputo Stadium, at 7:30 pm (CKAC Sports THE TEAM 990, USLlive.com).
Montreal will play its first game in club history against the expansion team.
"Once again, we will be well prepared to play Wednesday night, even though we never faced that team," noted midfielder Joey Gjertsen. "We played well in our last two games and we have to build on that, but we have to work even harder to get a win tomorrow. We need to manage well the momentum of the match and keep possession of the ball."
"I'm expecting another complicated game against another excellent team that we know a little bit less," said Impact head coach Marc Dos Santos. "It's a new team, but there's a lot of parity in the league. They will come here and try to steal at least one point. We want to score, but we will need to be clear on our principles of play."
Goalkeeper Sdrjan Djekanovic should start a third consecutive match Wednesday, a fourth with the Impact this season. In three games, he has only allowed one goal. It happened in his last match, Sunday at home, when the Impact was shut out by the Puerto Rico Islanders 1-0. The Islanders scored the winning goal at the 45th minute on a penalty kick.
Impact forward Roberto Brown and defender Adam Braz will miss Wednesday's game due to suspensions. Brown was issued a red card at the end of the Puerto Rico game, while defender Adam Braz serves a one-match suspension due to a caution accumulation.
Midifielder Félix Brillant will also miss the game due to a light knee injury.
The City Stars have not lost in their last two games, having played their opponent to a 0-0 draw at home July 12 against the Puerto Rico Islanders and July 17 against the Charleston Battery.
Forward Joshua Boateng is the leading scorer of the team with four goals. He will miss Wednesday's game as he is currently trying out with Spanish first division club La Coruna.
OTHER FACTS
- The Montreal Impact has not scored in its last five season matches (460 minutes).
- Midfielder Simon Gatti is only 32 minutes away from the 5,000 minutes played mark with the Impact.
- Before graduating to the USL First Division, the City Stars had played two seasons in the USL Second Division. Last year, they had won the playoff title after winning 2-1 against Charlotte.
- The Cleveland City Stars, which have played their last seven matches at home, have not played on the road since June 16, in Rochester. Cleveland had lost 2-1 on that occasion.
NEXT GAMES
- Saturday, July 25 - IMPACT @ Austin - Nelson Field - 8:30 pm (USLlive.com)
- Saturday, July 25 - EA Guingamp @ FC Bordeaux - Olympic Stadium - 3 pm (Radio-Canada, CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990)*
- Tuesday, July 28 - Bordeaux @ IMPACT - Saputo Stadium - 7:30 pm (CKAC Sports)*
- Saturday, August 1 - IMPACT @ Miami - FIU Stadium - 8:00 pm (USLlive.com)
*International matches
USL First Division Stories from July 21, 2009
- Impact Faces Cleveland Wednesday - Montreal Impact
- Champions Trophy Schedule - Montreal Impact
- Hayes Named USL First Division Player if the Week - Portland Timbers
- Gregory Richardson Named to Team of the Week - North Carolina FC
- Troy Roberts Named to Week 15 USL First Division Team of the Week - Cleveland City Stars
- Rhinos Looking To Advance To USOC Finals - Rochester Rhinos
- City Stars Travel To Montreal, Boateng On Trial In Spanish First Division - Cleveland City Stars
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
