Montreal Impact - New England Revolution
Wednesday, July 18, 2012 – 8pm (ET)
Stade Saputo, Montreal
Broadcast: TSN2, RDS, CJAD Radio
Also available on: illico web
MONTREAL, Quebec – The Montreal Impact (6-12-3) welcomes the New England Revolution (6-8-4) for its first meeting of the season on Wednesday, July 18, at Stade Saputo, at 8pm. The Revs are just one point ahead of the Impact in the Eastern Conference standings, with three games in hand.
Individual tickets and new special promotions are available for all games at Stade Saputo via impactmontreal.com, or by calling 514-328-3668. Please note that doors now open 90 minutes before game time; at 6:30pm ET.
WATCH: Preview vs NE
Notes and Quotes
“There is frustration now with the amount of points we have let slip away,” said Impact head coach Jesse Marsch. “There is no time for excuses right now. We have to throw it all out there Wednesday. This group sticks together.”
“Their midfield is mobile, clever and good on the ball,” said Marsch about the Revolution. “They have some athletic players up front with Sane. They can get on the end of the good work that their midfielders do. It’s a really good challenge for us, but it’s up to us to push and prepare ourselves for a big game tomorrow.”
“New England has changed a lot over the years,” said defender Shavar Thomas. “They have revamped their profile in terms of how they play, with their new coach who has been in the club for many years. They’re doing well for themselves, but what we have to concentrate on being able to get points against them.”
Team news
Montreal lost 2-1 to the Philadelphia Union on Saturday, at PPL Park, having conceded the winning goal in extra time after a corner by midfielder Patrice Bernier ricocheted off of a Union player for an own goal to tie things in the 90th minute.
The Impact has outshot the opposition in seven of 10 home matches, and in four of its last six games played overall.
Defenders Matteo Ferrari and Nelson Rivas, as well as forwards Bernardo Corradi (4G, 1A) and Andrew Wenger (3G) will all miss the game due to injuries.
Forward Sanna Nyassi (2G, 2A) will be available for selection for Wednesday’s game after serving a mandatory one game suspension after being shown his fifth caution against the Columbus Crew on July 8. His return may present a brother versus brother matchup as his twin, Sainey Nyassi, plays for the Revs.
Captain Davy Arnaud surpassed the 21,000 minutes played mark for his career in the loss against the Union last Saturday. He’s also scored six career goals versus New England.
Revs news
New England is coming off of a 1-0 loss to Toronto FC at home last weekend. The Revolution has won only once on the road this season (1-6-1) and is winless all-time versus Canadian clubs having gone 0-2-5 in Vancouver and Toronto. However, the team from Boston is undefeated against in its first matchup versus expansion clubs in its last nine games (5-0-4).
This is the first of three matchups with the Revolution as they will host the Impact for the first time on Sunday August 12, and will return to Montreal on October 27 to close out regular season.
The Revolution’s star midfielder Shalrie Joseph has come on as a substitute in the Rev’s last two games as he looks to find his form following a slight injury. Joseph played in every game for the Revs last season, starting all 32 matches, scoring eight goals. He has three assist in 2012.
International forward Saer Sane has scored eight goals in 17 games this season, 16 as a starter. The Senegalese striker is in his first season in MLS, having joined the Revolution from Bayern Munich’s reserve team.
The club also announced on Monday the acquisition of French striker Dimitry Imbongo on a free transfer after coming up through TSV 1860 Munich’s system, where he made 16 appearances and scored 16 goals while adding one assist in the 2009-10 season. Imbongo followed that with six goals and three assists in 25 appearances in 2010-11.
After scoring one goal in a pair of substitute appearances to start his MLS career as a DP for New England, Honduran forward Jerry Bengtson is expected to miss at least the next three games while participating in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Upcoming matches
Following Wednesday’s game, the club will travel to Texas to face off against Brian Ching, Andre Hainault and the Houston Dynamo on Saturday, July 21, at 8:30pm. The game will be broadcast live on TVA Sports and will be available on MLS Live, illico web and illico mobile.
The Impact then returns home to take on Olympique Lyonnais in an international matchup on Tuesday, July 24, at Stade Saputo, at 7:30pm. Then, Thierry Henry and the New York Red Bulls visit Montreal for the third and final encounter this season on Saturday, July 28, at Stade Saputo, at 7:30pm.
Group packages, as well as 3 or 6 game partial plans are available for the 2012 season by calling 514-328-3668.
The Impact U21 team will host Brampton City United, on Saturday, July 21, at the College St-Jean-Vianney. Admission is free. On the next day, the Impact U21 embarks on a tour of France to play games against the reserve sides of first division clubs from Ligue 1; returning on August 3.
Game Notes
- INJURY REPORT: OUT - D Matteo Ferrari (Right quad strain), Nelson Rivas (left knee) F Bernardo Corradi (Left knee torn ACL), Andrew Wenger (Left hamstring strain)
- The Impact has a 3-0-1 record when the team leads at halftime.
- Impact has scored the first goal in 13 of the 21 games played. The team is 3rd in shots (289), 6th in goals (28), first in fouls committed (276), and 3rd in fouls suffered (268).
- Goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts is first in the league in GP (20), minutes played (1,776), 6th in shots faced (85), and tied for 9th in saves (51).
- Forward Marco Di Vaio has taken 22 shots in his last five games, including 15 in his last two.
- Midfielder Felipe is tied for 5th in fouls committed with 38
- Captain Davy Arnaud leads the league in fouls suffered with 55, while Felipe is 2nd with 46.
