The Montreal Impact defeated the Richmond Kickers 2-0 and extended their unbeaten streak to seven games in front of 8,112 spectators. Goals by Joel Bailey and Sandro Grande were the difference in a game that was mainly a defensive battle between the two top teams in the Eastern division. Montreal keeper Greg Sutton collected his 6th shutout of the season but was not tested too severely.
The game started off very slowly with both teams content to clog up the midfield and not give away any chances. Richmond had the first chance in the fourth minute when they sent in a free kick that was pounced on by Sutton who juggled the ball before getting a handle on it. Montreal's first chance came in the 21st minute when a corner kick by Grande was tapped wide by Bailey. The Kickers had another chance in the 31st minute when David Hayes sent a free kick from 30 yards out that Sutton had to save. Impact captain Mauro Biello had a good chance in the 42nd minute when he sent a rocket from 25 yards just over the bar. Grande had another chance in the 45th minute when he sent a free kick from the left of the box that Richmond keeper Ronnie Pascale smothered.
The second half was much livelier. In the 47th minute Biello came in on the right centered to Frederick Commodore in the box who shot directly at Pascale. The keeper dove to the left deflecting the ball right into the path of Bailey who tapped it in for the score. Montreal 1 Richmond 0.
Bailey had another shot in the 57th minute that went wide. Jason DiTullio sent a solid shot on to Pascale in the 62nd minute but the Richmond keeper easily made the save .In the 70th minute, Impact midfielder Patrick Leduc was ejected from the game after he tackled David Hayes from behind two feet outside of the box. Hayes was on a clear breakaway but never got to shoot. Down to 10 men, the Impact suddenly seemed to come to life. The Impact's second goal was the result of a free kick in the 83rd minute, when Grande, standing seven yards outside of the box, sent a bullet into the top right corner of the net past a stunned Pascale. Montreal 2 Richmond 0.
The Kickers had a few more chances before full time, most notably in the 87th minute, when defender Pete Luzak sent a rocket from outside the box that Sutton stopped.
After the game, Impact coach Nick De Santis praised his team saying, "The guys have so much pride. Even at 10 men we continued to attack." Grande who scored the second goal, deflected the praise to his defenders saying, "We did very well defensively."
The Impact will now hit the road for three games in Western Canada.
Lineups:
Montreal: Sutton (GK), Gervais, Pizzolitto, Vincello, DiTullio, Grande, Leduc, Roberto, Bailey (Kolic 83), Commodore (Ribeiro 71), Biello (Budalic 86). Substitutes not used: Olivieri (GK), Barker, Williams, Selaidopoulos.
Richmond: Pascale (GK), Fox, Knight, Luzak, Tony Williams, Worthen (Cephas 80), Simms (Lekics 73), Richie Williams, Hayes, Delicate, Jeffrey (Ukrop 68). Substitutes not used: Ankiel (GK), Bobo, O'Toole.
Scoring: Bailey (Montreal 47), Grande (Montreal 83)
Cautions: Roberto (Montreal 50) Ribeiro (Montreal 88), Fox (Richmond 88)
Ejections: Leduc (Montreal 70)
Attendance: 8,112
Conditions: Warm (20 degrees Celsius) Field dry.
