Impact forward Roberto Brown opened the score in the 11th minute. On the sequence, midfielder Sandro Grande took a strong shot of about 20 meters that goalkeeper Ryan McIntosh stopped, diving to his left. Félix Brillant recovered and centered the ball at the far post. Brown then deflected and netted it with a header, scoring his fourth goal of the season.
Brillant doubled Montreal’s lead in the 50th minute. Following a pass from Brown that went through two Silverbacks defenders, Brillant unloaded a shot that beat McIntosh to his left.
Brillant scored the insurance goal in the 79th minute. After accepting a deep pass from Antonio Ribeiro, Brillant came alone in front of McIntosh and beat him with a lob.
Silverbacks defender Matt Bobo scored the single goal for Atlanta in the 90th minute of play, after accepting a pass from midfielder Blake Camp.
“It feels good to gain six points in two games against Atlanta. We can’t ask for more,” said Brillant. “We have the momentum right now so I hope that it will continue. On the two goals, I did the runs but without the passes from Antonio (Ribeiro) and Roberto (Brown), I wouldn’t have had these chances. They gave me the ball at the right speed and time.”
“We told ourselves before the game that we had to counter-attack quickly, knowing they did not have all their legs, and that’s what we did,” said defender Alex Surprenant. “We scored three goals even if once again, we missed a lot of opportunities. Defensively, we did good work by not letting their strikers be dangerous, but a small mistake at the end of the game gave them the chance to score.”
Impact newcomers Gason Gregory and Peter Byers played their first game with the club, joining their teammates in the 57th and 62nd minute respectively.
For the first time since 2003, the Impact scored three goals in two consecutive games.
The Impact played in front of a sold out crowd for the 8th time this season, having sold all 13,034 available tickets.
Forward Severino Jefferson missed the game, serving a one-game suspension after receiving five cautions. Midfielder Patrick Leduc missed his first game of the season due to an ankle injury.
The Impact will play its first CONCACAF Champions League game Wednesday, August 27, at Saputo Stadium, against the Real Esteli FC, the Nicaraguan champion (7:30 pm, Radio-Canada, CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990).
HIGHLIGHTS
19th minute – Silverbacks goalkeeper Ryan McIntosh tripped Roberto Brown who came alone towards him. Midfielder Joey Gjertsen then took possession of the ball, but his low shot was blocked by Silverbacks defender on the goal line.
34th minute – Midfielder Sandro Grande took a free kick of about 35 meters that forward Roberto Brown deflected with a header, just to the right of Atlanta’s goal.
37th minute – Following a short pass from Brown, midfielder Tony Donatelli fired a high shot inside the box that McIntosh stopped after diving to his left.
39th minute – After outplaying the Silverbacks goalkeeper, Gjertsen took a shot in the upper right corner, but Silverbacks defender Martyn Lancaster dove to intercept the ball.
61st minute – Roberto Brown accepted a diagonal pass from Brillant and attempted a low cross shot that went just to the right of the Silverbacks’ goal.
SOMMAIRE DU MATCH
PHOTOS PÉPÉ AU STADE SAPUTO
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Source: Patrick Vallée, Montreal Impact
Info: 514-328-3668 (Ext. 227)
