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Club de Foot Montreal

Impact lose 3-1 against Minnesota Stars

August 6, 2011 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club de Foot Montreal News Release


MONTREAL - The Impact lost 3-1 against the Minnesota Stars, Saturday night, at Saputo Stadium, ending a six-game unbeaten streak at home.

English midfielder Ian Westlake scored the only Impact goal of the game at the 23rd minute. Striker Ali Gerba volleyed the ball to Anthony Le Gall, who passed to Westlake behind the Stars defence, following a nice run. Westlake then beat Stars goalkeeper Joe Warren with a left-footed low shot.

Midfielder Simone Bracalello score twice, including the game-winning goal at the 75th minute. He then scored the insurance goal in stoppage time of the second half. The Stars had opened the scoring at the 17th minute on a goal from defender Neil Hlavaty on a penalty. Hlavaty beat Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush on a low shot to his left, while the Impact goalkeeper dove to the other direction.

"I am disappointed with the team because we didn't play well enough," said Impact sporting director and head coach Nick De Santis. "We didn't have a lot of energy in the first half and we let them dictate the rhythm of the game. Even though we had some scoring opportunities tonight, too many players didn't show up. We must now think about right now and continue winning games to add to the good performances."

"We lost too many balls while being in a bad situation and they made us pay for it," said Impact team captain Nevio Pizzolitto. "We tried coming back, but without success. We are playing our next game in a few days and so we need to quickly turn the page. We have three games left on this home stand and we need to take advantage of it by getting as many points as possible."

"It's tough. We can't play with our heads down, following a bad goal," added defender Simon Gatti. "We don't have the choice, we must beat Tampa bay on Wednesday night to fight for a place in the playoffs."

Goalkeeper Evan Bush notably made an important save at the 39th minute, diving to his right to stop a 20-meter free kick from midfielder Simone Bracalello.

A few minutes before the end of the game, forward Mignane Diouf, who came on the field at the 73rd minute in replacement of Ali Gerba, had a scoring chance when his shot went a few inches to the left of the goal, following a cross to the far post from Anthony Le Gall.

The Montreal club unveiled at halftime its new logo, towards its entry into Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2012.

The Impact will play its next home game at Saputo Stadium against FC Tampa Bay, this Wednesday, at 7:30pm (CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990, radio-canada.ca/sports). Tickets for this game are still available through Admission Network (admission.com / 514-790-1245) or at Saputo Stadium's ticketing office.

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