MONTREAL, Quebec – The Montreal Impact U21 team earned a spot in the championship game of the Canadian Soccer League, defeating the York Region Shooters 3-1 in the semi-final game on Sunday afternoon, at the Saint-Jean-Vianney Sports Complex. With the win, the U21s extend their unbeaten streak to 11 games.
Lefevre sets the tone
Midfielder Wandrille Lefevre scored on a penalty kick to give the Impact a 1-0 lead in the 26th minute, blasting his shot to his left as the keeper dove in the other direction. The referee pointed to the spot after midfielder Maxim Tissot was tripped up by the York goalkeeper Camilo Benzi in the 18-yard box.
York tied it up in the 35th minute as the Impact was unable to clear a ball in the box. From just inside the right corner of the area, forward Kadian Lecky got onto a loose ball and curled one around Impact goalkeeper Jason Beaulieu just inside the far post.
Then in the first minute of the second half, Lefevre played a through ball to Anthony Jackson-Hamel down the right flank. The Impact forward took one touch before firing a low shot passed the charging keeper just inside the far post.
Yacine Ait-Slimane scored the insurance marker late in stoppage time of the second half. Following a corner kick that saw York push all of its players into the box, including its keeper, the Impact was able to clear the danger when Lefevre picked up the loose ball. From just outside his own 18, Lefevre played a through ball right down the middle of the field to Slimane, who broke in alone on goal all the way from the half line. He then tapped the ball into the open net from in close.
Other highlights
Tissot lined up a free-kick in the 19th minute from about 20 yards out that he curled around the wall, but the keeper scooped up the bouncing shot.
A deflection put forward Jackson-Hamel behind the York defence, but his low shot from a sharp angle down the left flank from six yards out rolled just wide of the opposite post.
Tissot tried another shot from distance as he dribbled towards the centre from the left touch line in the 54th minute, but his long distance try was stopped by the keeper, diving to his left.
One more game to play
“We are very proud of the result,” said Impact U21 head coach Philippe Eullaffroy. “We were expecting a very difficult match and the final 20 minutes came a little undone for both teams. It’s great that we have achieved our 11th consecutive win, but hoping to extend it to 12. We now must erase everything we’ve done up until this point and focus on bringing our ‘A’ game next week.”
“We played well despite the rain and the windy conditions,” added team captain Dominique Morin. “We managed the game well after we got the lead. We have one more game to play, the biggest of the season and we have some momentum on our side.”
Upcoming match
The Impact U21 squad will play the CSL championship game on Saturday, October 27 at 3pm (ET) at Centennial Stadium, in Etobicoke, Ontario against Toronto Croatia, who finished in 1st in the regular season of the CSL.
Lineups
MTL: GK - Jason Beaulieu; D - Amine Meftouh, Kai Morton, Karl W. Ouimette, Hugo Lapointe-Senécal; M - Zakaria Messoudi (Kevin Luarca 78`), Wandrille Lefevre, Dominique Morin, Maxim Tissot; F - Anthony Jackson-Hamel (Felix Cardin 83`), Mircea Ilcu (Yacine Ait-Slimane 69`)
Subs not used: GK - Hicham Kettani; M – Philippe Lincourt-Joseph; F - Victor Ndiaye, Charles Joly
YORK: GK – Camilo Benzi; D – Rickey Herron (Darryl Gomez 46`), Marcelo Capazzolo, Christey Fitzroy; M – Alex Trujillo (Shezan Singh 79`), Tristan Jackman, Andre Manders, Ramos Eder-Eurenco (Chris Thomas 53`), Desmond Humphrey, Ryan Dummet; F – Kadian Lecky (Zachary Bowman 77`)
Subs not used: GK – Emanuelle Ameltonis; D – Andre Stewart
Goals
MTL – Lefevre 26`
YORK - Kadian Lecky 35’
MTL – Jackson-Hamel (Lefevre) 46’
MTL – Ait-Slimane (Lefevre) 90’
Cautions
MTL – Ilcu
YORK – Benzi
YORK - Capazzolo
