The Impact will try to find its winning ways after two consecutive losses, losing 2-1 against the Carolina RailHawks, on May 21, at Saputo Stadium and 3-0 against FC Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg last Saturday. Montreal has only one win in its last six games of the season.
“There was a lot of positive this week,” said Impact head coach Marc Dos Santos. “We must make sure to always play the right way, which will give us a better chance to win. That wasn’t the case against Tampa Bay. I think we have progressed a lot in the last few days, from our training sessions, to our team meetings and also the players’ reaction. I would be surprised to not see the team react positively on Saturday against Fort Lauderdale.”
It will be the first matchup between both teams this season. Montreal has a winning record of five wins, two losses and six ties (12GF-8GA) in 13 games against the Floridian team, previously known as Miami FC since 2006.
“We worked hard this week and we applied all the principles given by the coaches,” added midfielder Hassoun Camara. “We must find this competitiveness on the field. The atmosphere within the group is good and we are all united. We are always looking for the same objective, putting wins together. If we all work towards the same goal, we shouldn’t have any problem.”
Striker Ali Gerba, who was called up to play for Canada at the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, taking place from June 5 to June 25 in the USA, will miss Saturday’s game. Midfielder Leonardo Di Lorenzo will serve a one-game suspension following the red card he received in Tampa Bay last Saturday.
Defender Nevio Pizzolitto will be out of the lineup for three weeks to a hip injury, while midfielder Luke Kreamalmeyer will also miss the game due to a fractured foot.
Defender Richard Pelletier will be available to play his first game of the season after serving a six-game suspension, following incidents that occurred during last year’s playoff semifinals against the Carolina RailHawks.
The Strikers are just in front of the Impact in the standings, sitting in sixth place in the NASL standings with a record of one win, two losses and four ties for seven points. The South Floridian team has not won a game since April 23 versus Atlanta. In their last game, on May 11, the Strikers tied the Silverbacks 0-0 in Atlanta.
The Impact U21 will play a friendly game tonight in Gatineau against the Outaouais AAA senior team, the Hull Dynamo, at Stade Mont-Bleu, at 7pm.
The Impact will play its next game against FC Edmonton, at Saputo Stadium on June 4, at 2:30pm (Radio-Canada, CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990, radio-canada.ca/sports). Tickets for this game are still available through Admission Network (admission.com / 514-790-1245) or at the ticketing office of the Saputo Stadium.
OTHER FACTS
• Defender Zurab Tsiskaridze and midfielder Amir Lowery will each play their 50th career game in North American second division.
• Strikers forward Eduardo Coutet is currently in second place in the NASL with four goals.
• The Impact U21 will play a friendly game tonight in Gatineau against the Outaouais AAA senior team, the Hull Dynamo, at Mont-Bleu Stadium, at 7pm.
THREE NEXT GAMES
• Saturday, June 4 – FC Edmonton @ IMPACT – Saputo Stadium – 7:30pm
• Wednesday, June 8 – IMPACT @ Atlanta Silverbacks – Atlanta Silverbacks Park – 7:30pm
• Sunday, June 12 – IMPACT @ Puerto Rico Islanders – Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium – 6:05pm
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