Late Goals Lead to 1-1 Tie
Published on September 7, 2011 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
Montreal Impact News Release
BAYAMON, Puerto Rico - The Montreal Impact and the Puerto Rico Islanders played to a 1-1 draw, Wednesday, at Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel, in Bayamon.
With only three games remaining this season, the Impact (26pts) is now three points behind the Minnesota Stars for the sixth and final playoff spot.
The Impact opened the scoring at the 88th minute of play on a goal from Ryan Pore. Following a long pass from Amir Lowery behind the Islanders defence, forward Mignane Diouf came in front of goalkeeper Ray Burse, and gave the ball to Pore, who scored his second goal of the season in an open net.
Diouf and Pore both came on the pitch at the 55th and 71st minute respectively, replacing midfielders Leonardo Di Lorenzo and Anthony Le Gall.
Less than two minutes later, Islanders striker Jonathan Faña, back from international duties with the Dominican Republic national team, scored the tying goal on a penalty at the 90th minute of play. He beat Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush with a shot to the right of the net, with Bush diving to the opposite side.
"It's disappointing to tie when you take the lead at the 88th minute," said assistant coach Mauro Biello, who coached his first career game in the NASL, while head coach Nick De Santis was in Montreal for personal reasons. "We would have preferred to come back with three points but every point is crucial at this time of the season. It's one point on the road and we gained one point on Minnesota."
The Impact played with a one-man advantage starting at the 30th minute, after the ejection of Islanders defender Logan Emory for tackling Impact forward Miguel Montaño, who had a clear path to the net.
Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush, named NASL Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday, continued his stalwart play, stopping a 30-meter free kick from the Islanders at the 37th minute before saving a point blank shot from Islanders forward Yaikel Perez at the 41st minute. At the 52nd minute, Bush made another save on Perez, diving to his left.
At the 55th minute, Montaño had a scoring chance, but his point blank shot was stopped by Burse on a dive with his left hand.
The Impact had another scoring opportunity at the 74th minute. After receiving a cross from Diouf, Montaño saw his shot stopped by the Islanders defence. Ryan Pore then recovered the rebound, but his shot went over the net.
"Overall we played well because they did not give us problems and we defended well during the whole game," added Biello. "Then, in the second half, we managed the game well, we took the initiative by entering their third and we had better possession of the ball. It allowed us to create chances and we scored. We need to take the positives out of this game, go back home with three games to play and be ready for Sunday's match because it will be tough against Carolina."
Several players returned to the starting lineup, including defenders Philippe Billy and Nevio Pizzolitto, as well as midfielders David Testo, Leonardo Di Lorenzo and Anthony Le Gall.
Billy played his 50th career game with the Impact, while teammate Luke Kreamalmeyer played his 150th career game in North American second division.
After playing three straight away games, the Impact will return to Montreal on Thursday and will play its next home game at Saputo Stadium this Sunday against the Carolina RailHawks, at 3:30pm (98,5FM, 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.
Meanwhile, the Impact U21 will play two road games in less than 24 hours, against Toronto Croatia, on Friday at 8pm at Centennial Stadium, in Etobicoke, then against the York Region Shooters, on Saturday, at 7pm at St. Joan of Arc Field, in Vaughan. The team is currently fifth in the Canadian Soccer League overall standings with a record of 10-6-5 with 35 points.
NEXT THREE GAMES
- Sunday, Sept. 11 - Carolina RailHawks @ IMPACT - Saputo Stadium - 3:30pm (98,5FM, THE TEAM 990, radio-canada.ca/sports)
- Saturday, Sept. 17 - FC Edmonton @ IMPACT - Saputo Stadium - 7:30pm (98,5FM, THE TEAM 990, radio-canada.ca/sports)
- Saturday, Sept. 24 - IMPACT @ Atlanta Silverbacks - Atlanta Silverbacks Park - 7:30pm (atlantasilverbacks.com)
North American Soccer League Stories from September 7, 2011
- Late Goals Lead to 1-1 Tie - Montreal Impact
- RailHawks Clinch NASL Regular Season Championship - North Carolina FC
- Strikers Captain Thompson Scores to Defeat RailHawks - Fort Lauderdale Strikers
- RailHawks Visit Ft. Lauderdale with Eye on NASL Title - North Carolina FC
- FC Tampa Bay Announces Potential 2011 Home Playoff Dates - Tampa Bay Rowdies
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.
