SUMMARY
Impact midfielder Masahiro Fukasawa scored the only goal of the game in the 64th minute. After receiving a centering pass from Zé Roberto in the box, Fukasawa beat Battery goalkeeper Mike Behonick with a shot to his right, to score his first goal of the season with the Impact.
Battery forward Usiel Vazquez almost tied the game in the 70th minute, but his shot from outside the box hit the crossbar.
Beforehand, the Impact had its best scoring opportunity in the 43rd minute. On a pass from Lars Lyssand, midfielder Patrick Leduc took a powerful shot from the top of the box, forcing Behonick to make a diving save to his left. Impact forward Carlos Garcia, who was starting his first game with Montreal, jumped on the rebound but his shot was easily blocked by Behonick.
Impact goalkeeper Greg Sutton, who reached the 10,000-minute mark with the Impact Friday, in Atlanta, tallied his eighth win of the season and his 59th career win with Montreal. He his only one win away from tying the club record of 60 victories which belongs to Paolo Ceccarelli. It was also Sutton’s ninth shutout of the season.
With the win, the Impact remains in first place in league standings, with 38 points, four points ahead of the Rochester Raging Rhinos, the Richmond Kickers and the Seattle Sounders, all tied at 34 points. The Impact has two games in hand on the Sounders and three games in hand on the Rhinos and the Kickers.
The Impact plays its next game Sunday, August 7, at Claude-Robillard Sports Complex, against the Atlanta Silverbacks (4 pm, CKAC, CJAD).
COMMENTS
Nick De Santis : "We bounced back very well from yesterday’s loss and it’s very satisfying. We followed the game plan for 90 minutes by staying disciplined defensively. We controlled the ball and also slowed the game down. We were able to stop them in the midfield and we only gave them a few scoring chances. We were able to take advantage of a quick counter-attack to score the winning goal."
IMPACT LINE-UP
Greg Sutton, Nevio Pizzolitto, Gabriel Gervais, Jason DiTullio (David Fronimadis 72), Lars Lyssand, Patrick Leduc, Adrian Can, Zé Roberto, Masahiro Fukasawa (Mauricio Vincello 88), Carlos Garcia (Darko Kolic 77), Mauro Biello (Antonio Ribeiro 70)
CHARLESTON LINE-UP
Mike Behonick, Jason Kutney, Jeremie Piette (Greg Simmonds 78), Drew Kopp, Ben Hollingsworth, Josh Smith (Thabiso Khumalo 72), Justin Evans, Andres Perez, Jesus Martinez, Lazo Alavanja, Usiel Vazquez (Alon Lubezky 89)
GOALS
MTL : Masahiro Fukasawa (Zé Roberto) 64
SHOTS MTL 9 CHB 11
SAVES MTL 2 CHB 2
FOULS MTL 18 CHB 15
OFFSIDES MTL 2 CHB 0
CORNERS MTL 3 CHB 2
CAUTIONS
MTL: Nevio Pizzolitto 23
MTL: Darko Kolic 80
MTL: Masahrio Fukasawa 88
REFEREES
Jeff Muschik, Christopher Schulthorpe, Melanie Johnson, Brad Bieber
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Source: Patrick Vallée
Info: 514-328-3668 (ext. 27)
