Montréal - August 7, 2005 - The Montreal Impact (12-1-5) put on an offensive clinic at Centre Claude-Robillard, exacting revenge for its only loss of the season, as the club defeated the visiting Atlanta Silverbacks (7-12-3) by a 2-0 score before a sold-out 11,272 spectators.
The club, still in first place in the United Soccer Leagues First Division, three points up on the Rochester Raging Rhinos while holding three games in hand, had fallen 2-1 at DeKalb Memorial Stadium on July 29, ending a league-record string of fifteen games without a loss to start the 2005 campaign.
The Impact got out to an early lead in the second minute as forward Mauro Biello converted a perfectly-headed pass from Charles Gbeke for his team-leading sixth goal of the season. The marker was made possible by midfielder Masahiro Fukasawa, who controlled the ball at the edge of the box, momentarily slowing down the play, before sending a pinpoint cross to Gbeke at the other side who promptly directed it right the Biello.
Gbeke, signed to an end-of-season contract on August 1, came close to making it a runaway in the 26th minute. Mesut Mert's cross from the right rolled right past Fukasawa, who had faked an easy blast to allow the ball to continue to its intended destination, was booted by Gbeke right into a diving Christian Fegler, making what was then the save of the game. The Silverbacks keeper also had to be sharp during a 34th-minute rush on the Japanese midfielder, deflecting the ball over the crossbar with his left hand. Oddly, Fegler was beaten twice within the next minute, but was saved by both defender Alex Yi as well as referee Silvio Petrescu. Yi positioned himself at the right place at the right time, hugging the right post on a goalmouth scramble, thus making a point-blank save off Gbeke. Soon after, Gbeke - there's that name again - playing what may be the best half of his USL career, was plagued by a questionable offside call despite burying a cross from the left side into the net. However, the Ivory Coast native, who grew up in Montréal, was not to be denied as he finally gave the Impact a 2-0 lead in the 38th minute on a pass by defender Mauricio Vincello.
"With the midfield that we have, and all the elements that we have, it's easy for me to put some goals in there" explained Gbeke on his swarming the net in the first half. "The first goal, I got the ball in the air, waiting for Biello - and Biello's a great finisher. And the second one, one-on-one with the goalie, and just finish! That's what we do at training."
And while Gbeke was indeed putting on a much-needed offensive clinic - only two USL D1 teams have scored less than the first-place Impact - the rest of the club was successful in executing their fundamentals in all facets of the game, controlling the ball whenever possible while forcing the visitors to commit turnovers throughout the match. The suffocating defensive scheme was enough to throw the Silverbacks off their game as the Impact kept the ball away from any red-shirted player. The result was not only a 2-0 Impact lead after the first half, but a very impressive 13-5 lead in shots at goal after 45 minutes, 18-7 overall.
"It was good", commented head coach Nick DeSantis, on the output of his squad. "We attacked, we created chances, and you know, we scored two goals. Overall, we were in control of the game. It was a good win in front of our fans."
Although Fegler was busy all afternoon, making five saves in the first half and two more in the second, Sutton was relatively inactive for most of the game, reduced to the role of virtual spectator. Nevertheless, Sutton was sharp when he needed to be, diving to his left to make a low left-handed save off Rodrigo Rios on a 57th-minute penalty, one of only four all afternoon, on his way to earning his league-leading tenth shutout of the season.
The Impact plays their second match of a four-game homestand on Wednesday, August 10 as they host the Portland Timbers at Claude-Robillard. Team president Joey Saputo has now put a cap on tickets sold for any Impact home game in order to insure that all spectators have a clear view of the field. Although the club has attracted more in four of their previous six home games this season, latecomers have been grumbling to the powers that be saying they are having a difficult time following the match from the grassy knoll, behind the track, at the north end of the pitch.
Consequently, it is still a major source of wonder why Major League Soccer is researching the inclusion of a market like Toronto as the first Canadian city to join the top-flight North American circuit. The Montreal Impact, one of two flagship USL D1 franchises, along with the small-market yet highly successful Rochester Raging Rhinos, would be the obvious choice, especially with a new stadium being built in time for the 2007 season. The Impact has averaged 11,461 (for a total of 80,229 in seven games) while the Toronto Lynx have averaged 2,698 (for a total of 24,286 in nine games) - not once cracking the 4,000 mark.
Corner Kicks: Defender Nevio Pizzolitto was forced to sit out the game due to an over-accumulation of yellow cards… Forward Eduardo Sebrango is now listed as day-to-day. The transplanted Cuban, who has been limited to only nine games this season, has missed the last nine contests due to a fractured bone in his right foot… Keeper Greg Sutton extended his Impact record to 10,239 minutes played. During the July 29 2-1 road loss to the S-Backs, Sutton became the first netminder in franchise history to reach the 10,000-minute plateau… Speaking of milestones, starting forward Mauro Biello, with 80 minutes played in the match, increased his franchise record to 19,873 minutes on the pitch. He is within two games of becoming the first I-man to surpass the 20,000-minute plateau…
Two of the club's four deadline signees were in the starting lineup for the club, as 27-year-old forward Charles Gbeke and 28-year-old midfielder David DiPlacido wore jersey numbers 28 and 11, respectively. The other players inked to contracts on August 1, just before the league-wide roster freeze, effective until the end of the season, were 25-year-old forward Joel Bailey (#14), who scored four goals and added an assist in 18 games with the 2004 Impact, and 19-year-old defender André Hainault (#2), who took the field for the club for only 17 minutes last season. Hainault was signed to an amateur contract… Gbeke, named the player of the game, was substituted following a collision, as 28-year-old Moroccan Rachib Madkour made his Impact debut in the 75th minute.
