Montreal - August 25, 2004 - The Montreal Impact (17-4-5), paced by two quick goals in the middle of the first half, clinched first place in the A-League's Eastern Conference as well as the 2004 Voyageurs Cup by easily outplaying the overmatched Edmonton FC (4-17-6) 2-0 in front of another impressive grassy-knoll crowd of 10,122.
The division title is the fifth in franchise history. The Impact also captured the Voyageurs Cup handed to the Canadian club with the most points in head-to-head matches amongst the five north-of-the-border teams, for the third straight season.
"Another Conference title and hopefully we can finish first in the league," exclaimed veteran Mauro Biello, who has played for all five Impact division championship clubs (1995, 1996, 1997, 2003, and now 2004). "Right now, this team is on a bit of a roll; we haven't given up many goals all season. We're solid defensively.
Solid indeed! Although the score may not indicate it, but the Impact's eighth consecutive shutout, extending its league record to 19 (in 26 games) as well as their current team-record shutout string of 748 minutes, was surely the most convincing victory of the season for Nick DeSantis's side, despite the fact that the players brought the aggressiveness level down a couple of notches. The Impact controlled the ball at both ends of the field throughout the match, prompting the visitors to run and chase after the more experienced champions during the entire ninety minutes. No wonder Edmonton FC sits a convincing last in the sixteen-team circuit, tied at 18 points with their Alberta cousins, the Calgary Mustangs.
The Impact got off to a fast start with two strikes within sixty seconds, breaking up what had been a rather un-entertaining opening twenty-one minutes. The home side opened the scoring in the 21st as Eduardo Sebrango deflected a centering pass from the right side by defender Chris Williams, which ended up at Zé Roberto's forehead. The Brazilian made no mistake, quickly reacting by heading the ball, which had slowed down to the perfect speed, past starting 'keeper Robert Stankov for a 1-0 lead.
As the announcer had barely announced the goal, Sebrango made the contest out of reach in the 22nd minute by fainting Stankov on the subsequent break, poking the ball under the falling netminder for a 2-0 advantage.
Yet, it could have been worse for the visitors as forward Antonio Ribeiro appeared t0 score the game's third goal, only to have referee José Farias, who can never be accused of favouring the home side on any given night, whistle down four-year vet Antonio Ribeiro on a questionable offside, erasing the easy marker. Less than two minutes later, Sebrango beat all don't-call-me Aviator backs, but smacked the ball a little too hard, sailing what could have been an easy goal high over the bar.
However, head coach Nick DeSantis was not impressed with the intensity of his players, especially in the second frame. "The way we played in the second half, that shouldn't have happened… I'm very pleased and proud of them, don't get me wrong! I just felt that a game like this should probably give the guys confidence - especially in the second half when the game opened up even more. Guys have to take advantage of that… I want to go forward and keep creating chances. "
The plight of the former Aviators is not a new one in the A-League. Every season a club seems to fall by the financial wayside in mid-season, only to be taken over by the league until the end of the campaign. That is exactly what happened to the Impact in 2001 as the club continued fighting for a playoff spot in front of crowds of less than 1,000 spectators, only to be eliminated on the final Friday. Three years later, the club is three points away from taking the circuit's regular season crown and home-field advantage through the post-season. All this in front of record crowds, something they had not experienced even when they captured the league title by a 1-0 score over the long-gone Colorado Foxes on October 15, 1994 - in front of a then-record 8,169.
It was obvious both clubs were going through the motions in the second half, as both clubs couldn't hit the side of a barn if they were leaning on it. The best chance of the second forty-five was by Roberto who dove towards the net, about eighteen yards out, fully stretching out to head a Chris Lemire centering pass which traveled over the bar.
The Impact ends the 2004 season with two more games over the weekend. The Rochester Raging Rhinos, who are still fighting for the fourth and final playoff spot in the East with the Atlanta Silverbacks and Syracuse Salty Dogs, will host the Montrealers this Friday at Frontier Field at 7:35 pm.
The importance of Friday's game has not escaped the Impact. A victory will knock out the Rhinos out of the playoffs. "We want to beat them - obviously", added Biello. "You never want to see a team that has done well in the past in the playoffs get in. So if we have a chance to put them away… We're going there to win the game. If we could knock them out of the playoffs, that would be great. They've been a thorn in our side for so many years. We'll take it like a playoff game and knock them out."
The final game of the campaign will be contested this Sunday at 4pm as the Richmond Kickers, who have clinched second in the Conference, will visit…
Note: For those keeping score, Andrew Olivieri recorded his third shutout in as many starts in 2004. Greg Sutton, who dressed as the backup, saving him for the two upcoming weekend games, leads the A-League with 16… The Impact, currently on an eight-game unbeaten string, ended the six-game "homestand" with a near-perfect mark of five wins and one tie - the only blemish being a 0-0 tie with the Vancouver Whitecaps on August 6. Two of those victories, both by 1-0 scores over the Puerto Rico Islanders (August 14) and Atlanta Silverbacks (August 22), were played at Laval University in Quebec City and the Université de Sherbrooke, respectively…
The Impact has already announced the date of their Eastern Conference semi-final home tilt. The match, the second in a total-goals, home-and-home series with the Conference's fourth-place club, will be held on Sunday, September 5 at 7pm. Tickets are already on sale at the Impact offices (514-328-3668) and all Admission outlets (514-790-1245). For those who cannot venture to Claude-Robillard Stadium, the game will be televised by FOX Sports World…
The game marked the ninth consecutive that the Impact have drawn over 9,000 spectators, including the games in Quebec and Sherbrooke which drew 9,763 and 9,218, respectively. The attendance was also the second-largest in franchise history, falling short of the 11,019 who witnessed the Impact tie the Whitecaps, the last time the club had played in Montreal. The figure was also the second ever over 10,000 for the Impact…
Midfielder Patrick Leduc played in his 100th career A-League game when he replaced Sandro Grande in the 55th minute… The club had previously played the former Edmonton Aviators at mammoth Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on June 15, a 1-1 tie, in their only previous meeting… The Impact outshot Edmonton FC 14-6, with each 'keeper making 3 saves… The Impact also outfouled the visitors 15-9, had more offside (4-1), yet finished the game with one less corner (4-3)… Two players received cautions in the match, both on the Edmonton side: midfielder Gordon Chin in the 60th minute and midfielder Eric Munoz three minutes later…
Finally, in the just-a-thought department: Although Edmonton FC player Ibrahim Mollaibrahimmagaoglu was originally scheduled to make the trip to Montreal, head coach Ross Ongaro elected to keep him at home. No word yet on whether the defender sports the longest last name in the history of the A-League or even the sport for that matter - at twenty letters. Just a thought!
