Goals by Ze Roberto and Mauro Biello paced the Montreal Impact to a 2-1 come-from-behind win over the Toronto Lynx in front of an all time regular season record crowd of 12,885. The win extended Montreal's unbeaten streak to 15 games, a USL record. Joe Mattachione scored the lone goal for the Lynx.
Less than 48 hours after playing in Toronto, the Lynx and Impact faced off again at Claude Robillard Stadium in front of another record crowd. Montreal seemed unsure of themselves early in the game having a hard time with their finishes. Toronto had the first chance when midfielder David DiPlacido was left alone about 25 yards from the goal and blasted a rocket just wide. Montreal strung together a couple of great passes in the 8th minute when defender Adam Braz went in on the right and sent a terrific cross into the box. Ali Gerba was in the perfect spot but headed the ball well over the bar. In the 20th minute, following a mad scramble in front of the Toronto net, Mauro Biello was fed a ball but also headed it over the bar. Montreal continued to press and in the 23rd minute midfielder Mesut Mert launched a ball from 30 yards well wide of the goal. Just a minute later, Toronto striker Said Ali sent a low hard shot that was smothered by Impact keeper Greg Sutton.
Toronto's goal came in the 30th minute when the Lynx was awarded a free kick 30 yards from the net. Mattachione stepped up and unleashed a rocket that beat Sutton and ended up in the top left corner. Toronto 1, Montreal 0.
Montreal continued to have trouble finishing their plays. On a Sandro Grande corner kick, the ball ended up in a scramble in front of the Toronto net but was booted well over the bar. In the 37th minute, Grande had another corner kick and sent the ball directly to Lynx keeper Theo Zagar who dove onto the ball to smother it. Toronto almost went up by two when another Mattachione free kick was headed off the post by Charles Gbeke in the 43rd minute. The rebound went to Said Ali who shot from close range but the ball was cleared off the line by Impact defender Gabriel Gervais.
In the second half DiPlacido had a terrific chance in the 51st minute when he sent a bullet from inside the box that Sutton tipped out of play. Just a minute later Montreal tied the game when Roberto sent a low hard shot into the bottom right corner from just outside the box. Toronto 1, Montreal 1.
Toronto kept up the pressure and in the 68th minute Gbeke was fed a great cross by Jamie Dodds but headed the ball weakly into Sutton's arms. Montreal went up in the 71st minute on some sloppy defending by Toronto. Biello came in on Zagar and shot low. Zagar made the save but gave up a rebound that Biello tucked into the bottom left corner. Montreal 2, Toronto 1.
The game was delayed for two minutes in the 76th minute when several sprinklers accidentally went off. Maintenance workers rushed to shut them off. The players took advantage of the stoppage in play to fill up on liquids. After the short break the Impact players seemed rejuvenated and went on the attack. In the 82nd minute, substitute Masahiro Fukasawa sped on the right and unleashed a terrific shot that was stopped by Zagar. Roberto had another chance in the 86th minute when he sent a bullet directly at Zagar who punched it out of danger. Substitute Darko Kolic sent a hard shot at Zagar less that a minute later but the Lynx keeper kept it out. The Impact had one final chance in injury time when Grande sent a great cross into the box that was headed wide by Kolic. Final score: Montreal 2, Toronto 1.
Game notes: Impact striker Ali Gerba has signed a contract with Sundsvall of the Swedish First Division and played his last game with the Impact. He will leave Montreal in a couple of days to join his new team. He had recently played with the Canadian National team at the Gold Cup and scored one goal against Cuba.
Lineups:
Montreal-Sutton (GK), Gervais, Pizzolitto, Braz (Fronimadis 65), Lyssand (Vincello 65), Grande, Roberto, Mert (Fukasawa 70), Ribeiro (Kolic 61), Biello, Gerba (Leduc 75). Substitutes not used: Olivieri (GK), Garcia.
Toronto-Zagar (GK), Titus, Henry, Arango, Francois (Fraser 76), Dodds, Mattachione (Munthali 67), DiPlacido, Matondo (Williams 58), Ali (Belotte 71), Gbeke. Substitutes not used: Goddard (GK), Hart, Dekker.
Goals: Toronto-Mattachione (30)
Montreal-Roberto(52), Biello (71)
Cautions: Dodds (Toronto 53)
Expulsions: None
Conditions: Warm (27 degrees Celsius), Field Dry.
Attendance: 12, 885
