The Impact will try to rebound from a daunting 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Vancouver Whitecaps, last Wednesday, at Saputo Stadium.
“We’ve already experienced a similar situation in the past and I am confident that we will have a good result Saturday that will help us forget about the loss to Vancouver,” said midfielder Patrick Leduc, who has played in 11 games so far this season. “We need to win Saturday because we are battling Baltimore for a playoff spot. We have to continue working hard and the results will follow.”
This will be the second meeting of the season for these two teams. The first game ended in a 2-1 loss for the Impact on July18, at Saputo Stadium.
“We have to play well for 90 minutes against Crystal Palace because they are a dangerous team, as we witnessed in Montreal two weeks ago,” said midfielder Tony Donatelli, the team’s leading scorer this season with five goals. “We have to go into the game with the same mentality as we did against Vancouver and play aggressively.”
With 23 points, the Impact sits in third place in the NASL division, while Baltimore is holding down fourth place with 19 points.
Midfielder Filipe Soares will be available Saturday after missing the last match due to a suspension following his ejection in the game against St. Louis.
However, defender Stephen deRoux (cheek), as well as midfielders David Testo (groin), Rocco Placentino (groin) and Leonardo Di Lorenzo (calf) did not travel with the team to Maryland due to injuries.
Crystal Palace lost its last game 1-0 at home against AC St. Louis, bringing their record to five losses in seven games in Baltimore (1-5-1). Baltimore has scored only 15 goals in 18 games played this season, and the team sits in last place in the league in that category.
The Impact will then face the Carolina RailHawks on Saturday, August 7, in Cary (7 pm, Radio-Canada, carolinarailhawks.com).
The Impact then plays its next home match on Wednesday, August 11, to once again face off against Baltimore (7:30 pm, radio-canada.ca/sports, CKAC Sports, The TEAM 990). For the final time, fans in attendance will be privy to a $1 Lafleur hotdog promotion, starting at 6 pm (when the doors open) until kickoff. Tickets for the game are available through the Admission Network (514-790-1245 / 1-800-361-4595 / admission.com) as well as at the Saputo Stadium ticket office.
OTHER NOTES
• Tony Donatelli and Philippe Billy are the only two Impact players to have played all 19 games.
• Baltimore’s line-up is made up of some notable players including former members of the Charleston Battery Tsuyoshi Yoshitake and Randi Patterson, former Whitecap Shaun Pejik and former Carolina RailHawk Santiago Fusilier.
• Head coach Jim Cherneski’s team will be without central defender Paul Robson, who is serving an automatic one-game suspension after his ejection from the team’s last game against St. Louis.
THE NEXT 3 GAMES
- Saturday, August 7- IMPACT @ Carolina - WakeMed Park - 7 pm (Radio-Canada, carolinarailhawks.com)
- Wednesday, August 11 - Baltimore @ IMPACT - Saputo Stadium - 7:30pm (radio-canada.ca/sports, CKAC Sports, The TEAM 990)
• Saturday, August 14 – IMPACT @ Rochester – Paetec Park – 7pm (rhinossoccer.com)
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Source : Patrick Vallée, Montréal Impact
Info : 514-328-3668 (ext. 227)
