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USL-1 North Carolina FC

Montreal ends RailHawks' unbeaten run

September 2, 2009 - USL First Division (USL-1)
North Carolina FC News Release


MONTREAL - The Carolina RailHawks saw their nine-match unbeaten streak come to an end on Wednesday night, falling 1-0 to the Montreal Impact in a heated-match before 11,173 at Saputo Stadium.

Montreal's Leonardo Di Lorenzo scored the game's only goal in the 11th minute, but the remainder of the match offered plenty of action. Only 18 fouls were called, but 10 cards were issued between the two teams, including a red card to RailHawks coach Martin Rennie, and several pushing-and-shoving matches between the two teams broke out during the second half.

"The way I see it, we didn't start well, they did," Rennie said. "We played well after that and were on the ball, but our dedication in the final third wasn't very good. We were up against it a little bit. A lot of decisions didn't go our way. That got us a bit frustrated and we didn't keep our focus the way I would have liked to, including myself."

The RailHawks (14-6-7) enjoyed the majority of possession throughout the match and had eight shots to the Impact's nine. But all that possession generated few discernible scoring opportunities. Carolina's only chance of the first half came in the 39th minute, when midfielder Daniel Paladini found himself with a bit of space at the top of the penalty area. He lashed a shot that sent Matthew Jordan sprawling, but the Montreal goalkeeper made the save.

"There wasn't cutting, moving or penetration in the final third," Rennie said. "As a result, we didn't score or create enough chances to score. There's definitely a lot of work to be done there. We need to do better and we need to be able break down teams like that."

Montreal (10-10-6) jumped on the RailHawks quickly.

In the third minute, defender Stefan Pesoli's header went just over the bar.

In the 11th minute, Di Lorenzo gave the Impact a 1-0 lead, the second time in four days the RailHawks found themselves trailing the Impact in the first half. Defender Adam Braz played a short cross into the area that went by Eduardo Sebrango, its intended target. The ball went through the area unattended to by Carolina, and Di Lorenzo hit a left-footed brace off a short hop that left Carolina goalkeeper Eric Reed helpless.

Reed (three saves) came up big for the RailHawks late in the first half to keep them in it. In the 35th minute, he laid out to turn away a Di Lorenzo shot, and eight minutes later, he stuffed a Sebrango header from close range.

Paladini's 39th-minute brace gave the RailHawks some hope for the second half, but they didn't force Jordan (three saves) into any precarious situations until the match's final moments.

Instead, the second half was slowed more by happenings after the play than anything during it.

In the 56th minute, pushing and shoving broke out after Sallieu Bundu fouled Nevio Pizzolitto.

In the 64th minute, Gregory Richardson was fouled rashly in front of the Carolina bench, and Rennie and the RailHawks reserves were outraged.

As the match continued to devolve without intervention from officials, the mild-mannered Rennie lost his cool, then found himself watching the match's final stages from the changing room. Rennie was ejected in the 68th minute when he kicked a water bottle in frustration after a questionable foul was called against the RailHawks right in front of him. And as he left the field, pushing and shoving broke out amongst members of both teams once again.

"I have to learn from that," Rennie said. "I didn't kick it at anybody. It was in frustration. It was lying there, and I kicked it. That was in a moment. That's not the way I want to act or want any of our players to act."

All the pushing and shoving tacked on three minutes of stoppage time at the end of the match. Another bout 30 seconds into added time turned those three minutes into a total of nine. With all that additional time, the RailHawks nearly equalized. Paladini hit a 30-yard free kick a few feet over the bar. On a corner kick moments later, the ball popped out to Paladini at the top of the area, and he hammered a shot off the right post.

"That's really frustrating," Rennie said. "But it's the first game we've lost in nine. We've been playing well and we've been on a good run. This is a tough trip. Now we have a couple days off, we'll recuperate and get ready for the final few games."

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USL First Division Stories from September 2, 2009


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