Impact Topple New York Red Bulls, 1-0
Published on May 11, 2011 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
Montreal Impact News Release
MONTREAL ¬" The Montreal Impact shut out the New York Red Bulls, a Major League Soccer club, 1-0 on Wednesday in front of 12,568 fans at Saputo Stadium.
Standing in the 18-yard box, striker Ali Gerba scored the only goal of the game at the 37th minute, when he deflected with his head a long cross from defender Philippe Billy, beating former Impact goalkeeper Greg Sutton, who played the full game for New York.
¬ÅWe are on the verge of becoming a real team," said Impact head coach Marc Dos Santos. "We are finding our marks and building together. We were really honest and professional in our work tonight. We prepared to win the game and we did everything we could to get the victory. Every player did his work. The public was really good for us tonight and that ¬â¢s what Montreal needs. ¬Â
"We showed tonight that we were able to play against the best players from MLS, ¬Â said Gerba. ¬ÅWe showed a lot of determination and really wanted to win the game. ¬Â
¬ÅWe were rewarded tonight, ¬Â added defender Philippe Billy. ¬ÅThis is a good result and it will help us in our work. Our level of confidence will be higher for Saturday ¬â¢s game against Carolina. ¬Â
The Impact was playing the first game in club history against the Red Bulls, showcasing Thierry Henry, Rafa Marquez and Dwayne De Rosario, who all started the game.
¬ÅThat was an important game for our club and the Montreal Impact, ¬Â declared Red Bulls forward Thierry Henry. ¬ÅWe expected a friendly of this level. It ¬â¢s always difficult to play against a good team at home. They made great plays on the ground and they created several opportunities. Their fans were behind their team all game long and it was all credit to them. ¬Â
The Red Bulls came close from opening the scoring at the 25th minute when Canadian international Dwayne De Rosario hit the left post of goalkeeper Evan Bush, who registered the shutout. At the 65th minute, Juan Agudelo took a point blank shot, after dribbling on several meters, but Bush made a diving save.
The Impact goalkeeper faced nine shots, while Montreal ended the match with 10 shots on Sutton.
The Impact defense limited New York to a few scoring chances only. Defenders Simon Gatti, Hicham Aaboubou, Kevin Hatchi and Philippe Billy played the full 90 minutes.
The two teams made a total of 13 substitions at halftime. Forward Mignane Diouf from Senegal played his first minutes of play with Montreal. Quebec forward Reda Agourram also played his first game of the year, after missing six games due to a thigh injury. At the 86th minute, after accepting a pass from midfielder Idriss Ech Chergui, Agourram took a shot that was stopped by goalkeeper Greg Sutton.
The Impact will play its next game against the Carolina RailHawks at Saputo Stadium Saturday at 2:30 pm. Excellent tickets are still available for the game, through Admission Network (admission.com / 514-790-1245) or at the Saputo Stadium ticketing office.
THREE UPCOMING GAMES
¬Â¢ Saturday, May 14 ¬" Carolina RailHawks @ IMPACT ¬" Saputo Stadium ¬" 2:30 (Radio-Canada, CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990, radio-canada.ca/sports)
¬Â¢ Saturday, May 21 ¬" IMPACT @ FC Tampa Bay ¬" Al Lang Stadium ¬" 7pm (fctampabay.com)
¬Â¢ Saturday, May 28 ¬" IMPACT @ Fort Lauderdale Strikers ¬" Lockhard Stadium ¬" 7:30pm (fctampabay.com)
North American Soccer League Stories from May 11, 2011
- Impact Topple New York Red Bulls, 1-0 - Montreal Impact
- FC Edmonton Scores in Stoppage Time to Earn a Point - FC Edmonton
- Strikers Lose First Game on the Raod - Fort Lauderdale Strikers
- RailHawks Run Past Fort Lauderdale 4 - 2 - North Carolina FC
- Stars News - Minnesota United FC
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