Montreal - July 28, 2004 - On a night that keeper Greg Sutton tied the franchise record for most shutouts in a season, the first-place Montreal Impact (13-4-4), paced by Sandro Grande's 45-yard blast, defeated the defending A-League-champion Charleston Battery 2-0 in front of 9,425 spectators at Claude Robillard Stadium.
The closest any club came from scoring, in what was to be a dreary first half, was not even the result of an offensive play, but actually due to a slight miscue on the part of the Impact starting keeper. Attempting to clear a back pass from a defender, the wet turf gave the veteran problems, as he wound up, swung, and missed the ball completely. Nevertheless, Sutton recovered quickly enough, kicking the ball into the East stands.
The fact that the play was the highlight of the half for the spectators was emblematic of the opening frame in general. Consequently, the story of the game was the anticipated record-tying night for Sutton. In only his fourth season with the club, the former third-string keeper equaled Paolo Ceccarelli`s mark for most shutouts in a season - in only the club`s 21st test of the campaign - recording his 13th goose-egg of 2004 by stopping only 3 shots, including the only save for either keeper in the first forty-five minutes (the Battery outshot the home eleven 5-3 in the process).
The 27-year-old, who came to the Impact following a season with the Cincinnati Riverhawks, was not even favoured to garner one of the two goaltending positions to start the 2001 season. However, his play in training camp earned him a spot behind Jim Larkin and Paul Shepherd (Ceccarelli, who started the season on the injured list, was also added to the roster during that turbulent summer), forcing then-head coach Valerio Gazzola to start the season with three keepers.
Nevertheless, despite the team's depth at training camp that season, Sutton was confident he would someday earn the top spot with the club, "Obviously my goal, when I came here, it wasn't to sit on the bench… I had been in Chicago (with the Major League Soccer Fire) and I had been in New York (with the MLS's New York/New Jersey MetroStars) where I had played at a high level, so I knew that I could get back to a level like this. I had to wait my turn. The goalie (Jim Larkin) at the time was coming off an MVP year with the team. I understood the situation and I was able to sneak in at the right time and continue the success that I had."
However, Gazzola knew there was something special in the Canadian, "At the time, when he did come to camp, there was something there. And I remember saying, "You know what, we're going to keep him." He's shown in the last couple of years that mentally, he's stronger, … in games under pressure, he's shown he can perform"
Even though the night belonged to Sutton, it was the offensive outburst early in the second which was the difference in the match. The scoreless deadlock was broken in the 53rd minute as midfielder Sandro Grande, only five months younger than the 6-foot-6 netminder, blasted a 45-yard drive into the top-left corner past Chris Doyle in the 53rd minute.
Although the goal would have garnered the highlight of week in any given seven-day stretch, Mauro Biello's effort on the insurance goal lifted the fans out of their seats five minutes later. The captain outhustled Doyle to the ball in the eight-yard box, poking it with his right foot while outdiving the visiting keeper, leaving Eddie Sebrango with a wide-open net.
Head coach Nick DeSantis agreed that the club needed to lift its game up a notch following the ho-hum first half, "Yeah. We wanted to create more chances… We spoke about it at the half - we weren't dictating the rhythm of the game. And I think, in the second half, they kind of slowed down, they were getting tired, so we kept getting balls wide and going at them, and at one point in time, something had to give. I think Sandro's great goal - that's a world-class goal - I think it came from being patient… and finding the right opportunity."
The game also marked the continuation of a frustrating season for the defending league titlists, as Chris Ramsey's squad falls to 3-13-4 (13 points), last in the Eastern Conference.
Note: With seven games left in the season, Sutton has an outside shot at what would be an incredible 20 shutouts… The Impact improves to 2-1 lifetime against the Battery at home, 4-4 all-time… The only other Impact home win against the Battery was on May 25, 1997, also by a 2-0 decision. The Battery had defeated the Impact 1-0 on June 28, 2002… Defender Mauricio Vincello, who played all 90 minutes, has now totalled 10,144 minutes in his A-League career. He surpassed the 10,000-mark in the 1-0 road victory over the Atlanta Silverbacks on July 24…
The Impact also gets out of July with a record over .500, winning 5 and losing 4, including two straight in a home-and-home series two weeks ago to the Syracuse Salty Dogs… The game was the first of six straight "at home". Two of the upcoming matches are still in the Province of Quebec, as the Puerto Rico Islanders will visit Quebec City (Laval University) on Saturday, August 14, while the Silverbacks will try to avenge last week's loss in Sherbrooke on Sunday the 22nd… It was the fourth time this season that attendance has surpassed the 9,000 mark - in only the club's seventh home game of 2004…
Although Sutton made all three saves in the game (Doyle was credited with none) to earn the game's first star, the Battery directed more shots at the Impact net than the home squad, outshooting the Montrealers 9-7 - with most missing their intended target by a country mile… The Battery was also ineffective on all seven of their corners. The Impact had 3… The Impact may have out-fouled the visitors 13-9 and may have had five more offsides in the match (6-1), but the Battery were the victims of both yellow cards handed out in the game by referee Steven DePiero: defenders Justin Evans (61st minute) and Nigel Henry (70th).
