HOUSTON, Texas – An unlucky deflection in the 40th minute was the difference on Saturday night in a solid road game for the Montreal Impact, falling to the Houston Dynamo 1-0 under difficult conditions due to rain at BBVA Compass Stadium.
Dynamo forward Will Bruin scored the game winning goal in the 40th minute. Bruin took a shot from outside the 18 yard box that ricocheted off of defender Eric Miller, sliding to make the block, and dipped over goalkeeper Troy Perkins.
Perkins came up with a couple of huge saves in the game. In the 10th minute, a ball played across the box fell to Andre Driver alone in front of goal. Perkins was quick to shift from one side of the post to the other to challenge the shooter and block the point blank attempt. Then in the 72nd minute, after Matteo Ferrari slipped on the wet field, Bruin charged in alone on goal, but Perkins caught off the angle and blocked the shot.
Felipe came close in the 16th minute when he fired a low shot from outside the box that just skimmed the post to the left of Hall.
Captain Patrice Bernier, making his first start of 2014 after offseason knee surgery, blasted one from distance after a free-kick was cleared in the 54th minute but Houston keeper Tally Hall leapt to push the ball over the bar.
Then in the 64th minute, Andrew Wenger almost found his second of the season after he chopped a loose ball in the box towards goal, but his shot was blocked off of the line by defender Kofi Sarkodie.
Post-game comments
"The goal was unfortunate and it’s obviously disappointing anytime you lose. We made big improvements today on things we worked at training," said Impact head coach Frank Klopas. "We were very compact and made it difficult for Houston to play against us tonight. Those are positives. I see improvements with every game. The effort by everyone tonight was fantastic and we should have walked out with a result."
"I was pleased to step back on the field and contribute,” said Impact tam captain Patrice Bernier. “It was a frustrating game because we showed a lot of effort but couldn’t take a point. We created several scoring chances and played well defensively against a team that is hard to beat at home. We are progressing and we want to continue in this direction next week at home."
"I’m positive because we played a good game tonight,” said defender Matteo Ferrari. “We have to believe in what we do. If we play like we did tonight, we won’t lose too many games this season."
Home opener
The bleu-blanc-noir will then head back north to host its home opener on March 22 versus Clint Dempsey and the Seattle Sounders FC at Olympic Stadium, at 4pm EDT.
Get your tickets for March 22 »
2014 Season tickets
2014 season tickets are now available in six categories, with prices ranging from $339, $443, $546, $667, $885 and $1,230 (taxes included), as well as in the Saputo Family Corner at $224 (kids) and $443 (adults). Memberships for Premium Seats are all sold out and only two suites remain for individual game purchases. Reserve your seat for the 2014 season by contacting our sales services at 514-328-3668.
Lineups
MTL – GK-Troy Perkins; D-Jeb Brovsky, Hassoun Camara, Matteo Ferrari, Eric Miller; M-Hernan Bernardello (Calum Mallace 85’), Patrice Bernier (Blake Smith 72’), Justin Mapp, Felipe, Collen Warner (Santiago Gonzalez 86’); F-Andrew Wenger
Subs not used: GK-Evan Bush; D-Wandrille Lefèvre, Karl W. Ouimette, Heath Pearce
HOU– GK-Tally Hall; D-Kofi Sarkodie, David Horst, Jermaine Taylor, Corey Ashe; M-Andrew Driver (Brian Ownby 82’), Ricardo Clark, Boniek Garcia, Brad Davis (Servando Carrasco 86’); F-Giles Barnes (Mark Sherrod 89’), Will Bruin
Subs not used: GK-Tyler Deric; D-AJ Cochran; M-Alexander Lopez; F-Omar Cummings
Goal
HOU – Bruin (Barnes) 40’
Cautions
HOU – Sarkodie 35’
HOU – Taylor 52’
MTL – Felipe 59’
MTL – Camara 77’
MTL – Bernardello 78’
