SUMMARY
Sebrango, who came into the game in the 55th minute, accepted a pass from Lars Lyssand in the box and fired a decisive one-timer, beating Mariners goalkeeper Matt Nelson.
The Cuban-born striker, who missed the last 12 games because of a fractured right foot, was playing his first game since June 30. He scored his third goal of the season and his first since June 22 against the Charleston Battery.
Just a few minutes before the winning goal, Impact goalkeeper Greg Sutton was forced to make a spectacular diving save on a shot by John Nusum.
In the 37th minute of play, striker Darko Kolic had the Impact’s best scoring chance of the first half. While Nelson was out of his net, Carlos Garcia fed a ball to Kolic whose low shot was saved off the goal line by defender Russell Hutchison.
The win allowed the Impact to consolidate its lead in first place in the United Soccer Leagues First Division standings with 49 points, four points ahead of the Rochester Raging Rhinos.
The Impact only needs four points to clinch one of the top two spots in the standings.
Jason DiTullio left the game in the 32nd minute, suffering from an apparent knee injury. His condition will be re-evaluated in the next few days.
With a crowd of 12,952 fans, the Impact established a new attendance record for a regular season game, breaking the mark of 12,885 fans set on July 24 of this year, against the Toronto Lynx.
It was also the second largest crowd in club history. During the championship final last year, on September 18 against the Seattle Sounders, the Impact played in front of 13,648 fans.
The Impact plays its annual game in Sherbrooke on Sunday, August 28th, against the Rochester Raging Rhinos at Sherbrooke University Stadium. (4 pm, CKAC, CJAD). De Santis’ squad will return to Claude-Robillard Sports Complex on Wednesday, Aug. 31 to face former Impact coach Bob Lilley and the Vancouver Whitecaps (7:30 pm, RDS, CKAC, CJAD).
POST-GAME COMMENTS
Nick De Santis
Eduardo Sebrango
IMPACT LINE-UP
Greg Sutton, Lars Lyssand, Nevio Pizzolitto, Mauricio Vincello, Jason DiTullio (Adam Braz 32), David DiPlacido, Patrick Leduc, Masahiro Fukasawa (Mesut Mert 81), Mauro Biello, Darko Kolic (Eduardo Sebrango 55), Carlos Garcia (Joel Bailey 69)
VIRGINIA BEACH LINE-UP
Matt Nelson, Russell Hutchison (David Castellanos 89), Steve Danbusky, Alan Woods, Tim O’neill, Jakob Fenger (FĂ©lix Brillant 55), Steve Shak, Jeff Bilyk (Tom Myers 86), John Nusum, Darren Caskey, Hamisi Amani-Dove
GOALS
MTL : Eduardo Sebrango (Lars Lyssand) 90
SHOTS
VB 11 MTL 12
SAVES
VB 4 MTL 7
FOULS
VB 16 MTL 21
OFFSIDES
VB 0 MTL 4
CORNERS
VB 1 MTL 2
CAUTIONS
VB: Russell Hutchison 51
MTL: Eduardo Sebrango 90
REFEREES
Jean-François Corrivault, Nick Theodorakis, Mathieu Bourdeau, Nicolas Dubuc
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Source: Patrick Vallée
Info: 514-328-3668 (ext. 27)
