Montreal wins second leg 1-0, defeats York9 FC 3-2 on aggregate
MONTREAL – The Montreal Impact defeated York9 FC 1-0 in the second leg of the Canadian Championship quarterfinals, Wednesday night at Stade Saputo, thanks to a penalty converted by Nacho Piatti in the 55th minute. With a 3-2 win on aggregate over two legs, the Impact now advances to the semifinals of the domestic tournament.
“I think this was game was important to get us back on track,” said Impact head coach Rémi Garde. “In terms of the team spirit, every player was concerned and focused today. We worked for one another for 90 minutes, and we didn’t concede a goal against a team that plays really good football.”
The Impact will now play the first leg of the semifinals on Wednesday, August 7, at 7:30pm at Stade Saputo. Tickets will be on sale as of tomorrow, July 25 at 10am on impactmontreal.com.
Nacho Piatti returns
While goalkeeper James Pantemis made his first start in an Impact uniform, the match also marked the return of Nacho Piatti from injury, the Argentine making his first start since suffering an injury in late May.
The Impact started pressing early, creating the game’s first opportunity in the sixth minute, when Clément Bayiha laid it off for Bacary Sagna near the touchline. The French international swung one in, but his cross was dealt with by the York defense. Victor Cabrera managed to get his head on the ensuing corner, but his attempt was inches away from putting the home side ahead.
The visitors got a chance of their own in the 17th minute, when midfielder Ryan Telfer picked out Kyle Porter in behind the defense, but Pantemis was able to block the angle and force the ball out of play.
Montreal came close to taking the lead again in the 31st minute, when a corner swung in was cleared to Maxi Urruti, waiting at the top of the box. The Argentine’s shot was deflected towards the top corner, but goalkeeper Nathan Ingham was able to punch it away.
Minutes later, midfielder Mathieu Choinière laid it off to Urruti behind the defense, but his strike was again parried away by Ingham.
“We’re very happy to have won this game to kick off this last part of our season on the right foot,” said midfielder Nacho Piatti. “We had lost a few consecutive games, so qualifying for the next round of the tournament feels good. I hope the team can continue like this.”
Impact in control
The Impact continued looking for the go-ahead goal upon returning from the locker rooms, and came close to finding in the 49th minute, when midfielder Saphir Taïder, in possession at the top of the box, passed to Bayiha, open to his right, but his shot was blocked by Ingham.
Minutes later, in the 55th minute, Montreal was awarded a penalty following a handball in the York9 FC’s box. Nacho Piatti stepped up to take the shot, sending Ingham the wrong way to open the scoring.
Taïder almost put the game to bed in the 87th minute, taking a shot from way out towards the top corner that rattled the crossbar before bouncing out of play.
With the win, goalkeeper James Pantemis becomes just the second Homegrown goalkeeper to win a game in the Canadian Championship for the Impact, after Maxime Crépeau.
“I was a little nervous at first, but I was well surrounded, and my team gave me confidence,” said goalkeeper James Pantemis. “At the end of the day, I’m especially happy with our collective performance. We advance to the next round with a clean sheet, which is great, because it’s been a while since we hadn’t conceded a goal in a game.”
Upcoming games
The Impact will bring a busy week of three games in eight days to a close by hosting the leaders in the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia Union, this Saturday, July 27, at 8pm at Stade Saputo (TICKETS – TVA Sports, 98,5, TSN 690). Montreal will then fly to the Rockies to take on the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Saturday, August 3, at 9pm EDT (TVA Sports, 98.5, TSN 690).
LINE-UPS
MTL – G-James Pantemis; D-Bacary Sagna, Víctor Cabrera (Jukka Raitala 81’), Rudy Camacho, Daniel Lovitz; M-Ken Krolicki, Saphir Taïder, Mathieu Choinière, Nacho Piatti (Shamit Shome 65’), Clément Bayiha (Orji Okwonkwo 72’), F - Maximiliano Urruti
Unused subs – Clément Diop, Anthony Jackson-Hamel, Michael Azira, Zachary Brault-Guillard.
Y9FC – G-Nathan Ingham; D- Diyaeddine Abzi, Luca Gasparotto, Morey Doner, Roger Thompson; M- Joseph Di Chiara, Kyle Porter (Emilio Estevez 77’), Manuel Aparicio, Ryan Telfer, Wataru Murofushi (Austin Ricci 61’); F-Simon Adjei Karlsson (Rodrigo Gattas 60’).
Unused subs – Matthew Silva, Steven Furlano, Emmanuel Zambazis, Rodrigo Gattas.
GOALS
MTL – Piatti 55’ (PK)
CAUTIONS
MTL – Taïder 85’
Y9FC – Di Chiara 85’
