Last Tuesday, the Impact was shut out 1-0 by the Toronto FC, in front of 12,083 spectators at Saputo Stadium, in its first game of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship. The Impact has not scored in its last four games (three regular season games and one Canadian Championship game), tying a team record that first occurred between May 12 and 25, 2001.
“We will try to offer the same level of play as we did during the last two games,” said Montreal Impact head coach Nick De Santis. “We want to get a win at home. The team needs to realize that they played a great game against Toronto and I hope that they will deliver the same energy Friday. If we offer the same performance against Portland, our chances are good. This team boasts one of the best defences in the league, so we will try to capitalize on our chances.”
“Portland is a team that aspired to the title last year and that is after it again this season, so we want to send a message to this team and league that Saputo Stadium is a difficult place to play at,” said Montreal Impact midfielder Patrick Leduc, who will play Friday his 186th regular season game, joining former defender Patrick Diotte, fifth in Impact history. Once we will score, it will take pressure off our shoulders and it will probably give us confidence to score many goals. I hope that a positive result on Friday will give us significant momentum for the remaining of the season.”
This is only the eighth game between both teams. The Impact has a lifetime record of 2-3-2 (3GF-6GA) against its American rivals. Last year against the Timbers, the Impact was shut out 1-0 at home, June 8, before tying 1-1, June 21, in Portland.
After having missed the last game against Toronto following minor injuries, team captain Mauro Biello and defender Cédric Joqueviel should be back in the line-up against Portland.
Defenders Nevio Pizzolitto (shoulder) and Gabriel Gervais (thigh), as well as midfielder Leonardo Di Lorenzo (thigh) and forward Roberto Brown (thigh) will miss the game due to injuries.
OTHER FACTS
• The Impact is only two goals away from the 300 goals scored at home. In 189 regular season games, the Impact has scored 298 goals.
• Goalkeeper Matt Jordan was selected to the USL First Division Team of the Week (6th Week). In the home opener at Saputo Stadium, May 19, Jordan made eight saves in a 0-0 tie against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
• The Timbers kicked off their season with a stretch of seven games without a loss (3-0-4) but were shut out in their last two games, 1-0 against Vancouver, May 24, then 2-0, May 26, against Miami, at PGE Park.
• Timbers head coach Gavin Wilkinson and forward Takayuki Suzuki will serve an automatic one-game suspension Friday following their ejection from the last game against Miami.
• As part of the stay-in-school program All the Way with the Impact, more than 4,300 students from the Commission scolaire de Montréal will attend Friday’s game. To encourage excellence in school, the Impact will be awarding, prior to the match, the Tony Licursi Bursaries to the two young students from the school commission who illustrated themselves, both in school and in soccer: Sofiane Ahmed Yahia, from Saint-Jean-Vianney Elementary School, and Kadriye Kaval, from Les-Enfants-du-Monde Elementary School.
NEXT GAMES
• Wednesday, June 4 – Miami FC @ IMPACT – Saputo Stadium – 7:30 pm (CKAC Sports, TEAM 990, USLlive.com)
• Saturday, June 7 – IMPACT @ Charleston – Blackbaud Stadium – 7:30 pm (USLlive.com)
• Friday, June 13 – Charleston @ IMPACT – Saputo Stadium – 7:30 pm (Radio-Canada, CKAC Sports, TEAM 990, USLlive.com)
-30-
Source: Patrick Vallée, Montreal Impact
Info: 514-328-3668, Ext. 227
