MONTRÉAL IMPACT vs LA GALAXY
STADE SAPUTO, Montréal, Qué.
Sept. 10, 2014 (WEEK 27, MLS Game #253)
7:30 p.m. ET (TSN/RDS; TWCS-LA/TWCD)
One of the hottest teams in Major League Soccer heads East for an interconference matchup as the LA Galaxy visit Stade Saputo to take on the Montréal Impact on Wednesday evening. The Impact come into the game off back-to-back home wins, though they remained winless on the road following their 3-2 loss in Houston over the weekend. The Galaxy have won five games in a row, their longest winning streak in five years, after scoring more goals in a game than they have since 1998 in a 6-0 rout of the Colorado Rapids last weekend at StubHub Center.
REFEREE: Hilario Grajeda. SAR (bench): Philippe Briere; JAR (opposite): Richard Gamache; 4th: Mathieu Bourdeau
MLS Career: 114 games; FC/gm: 24.3; Y/gm: 3.4; R: 18; pens: 19
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: MTL: Felipe Martins, Karl Ouimette … LA: Dan Gargan, Landon Donovan
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: MTL: Hernan Bernardello, Matteo Ferrari, Andres Romero, Dilly Duka, Krzysztof Krol … LA: Baggio Husidic, A.J. DeLaGarza, Alan Gordon, Marcelo Sarvas
DISABLED LIST: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: LA: Jaime Penedo (Panama, Copa Centroamericana); Bradford Jamieson IV (U.S. U-20) … MTL: Karl W. Ouimette, Jeremy Gagnon-Laparé, Issey Nakajima-Farran, Patrice Bernier (all Canada, 9/9 v JAM)
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (2 meetings): Impact 0 wins, 1 goal … Galaxy 1 wins, 2 goals … Ties 1
AT MONTREAL (1 meeting): Impact 0 wins, 1 goal … Galaxy 0 wins, 1 goal … Ties 1
LAST YEAR (MLS)
10/16: LA 1, MTL 0 (Opare 68)
• This is the only meeting of the season between the two clubs.
• The teams are meeting for the first time ever at Stade Saputo. The teams played to a 1-1 draw in their first meeting, May 12, 2012 at Olympic Stadium in Montréal.
• The Galaxy claimed a 1-0 victory last year at StubHub Center in their only encounter.
• Coaches record: Bruce Arena vs. MTL: P2 W1 L0 D1 … Frank Klopas vs. LA: P0 W0 L3 D0
MONTREAL IMPACT
The Montréal Impact saw their winless streak away from home continue, falling 3-2 to the Houston Dynamo on Saturday evening at BBVA Compass Stadium. The Impact are in 10th place in the Eastern Conference with 20 points from 26 games.
LAST MATCH
• The Dynamo took the lead in the 30th minute. The ball was misplayed by Montreal left back Krzysztof Krol on the right flank and Giles Barnes collected before charging into the box, where he held off a challenge as he slipped a low shot inside the near post.
• The Impact pulled even 10 minutes later as Felipe received a pass from Ignacio Piatti and drove to his right before slipping a pass to his left for Dilly Duka, who finished with his left foot from just inside the box for the equalizer.
• Montreal took the lead in the 55th minute on the counterattack. Marco Di Vaio settled a long forward ball at the center circle and quickly fed Ignacio Piatti in behind the Houston defense. Piatti drove into the box and snuck a shot past onrushing goalkeeper Tyler Deric.
• The Dynamo responded within seven minutes. Cummings settled a throw-in on the right flank and dribbled into the penalty area before threading a perfect pass to Barnes, who used one touch before sending a classy finish inside the far post from 12 yards out.
• The game-winner came three minutes later after the Dynamo gained a corner kick. From a Brad Davis service, Houston defender David Horst headed the ball down to Ricardo Clark waiting alone at the back post. He settled the ball with his chest before hammering an acrobatic side volley into the net from close range for the decider.
• Impact head coach Frank Klopas made two changes to the team that defeated the Columbus Crew 2-0 at Stade Saputo. Eric Miller came into the back four for the suspended Hassoun Camara, and Calum Mallace came back into the midfield in place of Patrice Bernier.
• MONTREAL IMPACT (4-2-3-1): Evan Bush - Eric Miller, Wandrille Lefevre, Matteo Ferrari (Heath Pearce 46), Krzysztof Krol (Maxim Tissot 67) - Calum Mallace (Jack McInerney 73), Felipe Martins - Andres Romero, Dilly Duka, Ignacio Piatti - Marco Di Vaio.
TEAM NEWS
• The Impact saw their road winless streak extended to 16 games in the defeat at Houston. The Impact are still without a victory away from home, trying to avoid becoming the sixth team to finish a season without a road win (now 0-10-3).
• “We had momentum, and we needed to keep the ball a little bit more, don't force it,” said Impact coach Frank Klopas. "We were under control, and we lose momentum at times when we could be better with our decision making. I think a lot of positives, but disappointing that we give up three goals and lose a game that I think we should have walked away (from) with points.”
• Ignacio Piatti scored his third goal in the last two games, in his fourth game since arriving to the Impact and MLS as a Designated Player, in the loss at Houston.
• Felipe Martins collected his second assist in as many games and his third assist in the last seven games, his first assists since April 5.
• Dilly Duka scored his second goal in three games, both coming as he’s started the last four matches since his arrival from the Chicago Fire via trade, his only goals this season.
• “It's a tough place to play,” said Duka. “The pitch is dry and it was probably one of the hottest days of the summer. But that's not what cost us the game. They have some quality players and if you turn it off, even for a moment, they are going to punish you.”
• Already missing Hassoun Camara through suspension, the Impact were forced into a second change on the backline at halftime when center back Matteo Ferrari had to come out of the contest with heat-induced breathing issues.
• “It was very difficult in the second half physically, we were late a number of times on the ball,” said defender Wandrille Lefèvre. “It’s tough and unfortunate that we couldn’t play a good full 90 minutes. Veterans that have been around the block, that can calm things down or anticipate things happening like the pressure put on us after goals and so forth, they certainly would have helped in circumstances like these.”
LA GALAXY
The LA Galaxy stretched their winning run to five games with a thoroughly dominant performance, rolling to a 6-0 win against the Colorado Rapids on Friday evening at StubHub Center. The Galaxy sit in second place in the Western Conference with 49 points from 26 games.
LAST MATCH
• The game changed dramatically just 33 seconds into the game. Rapids goalkeeper Joe Nasco couldn’t take the ball off Alan Gordon’s feet on a low cross from the left, and he grabbed Gordon’s ankles, taking him down as he tried to shoot. Marc Burch cleared the ball off the line, but referee Baldomero Toledo whistled for a penalty kick and showed Nasco the red card – the fastest expulsion in MLS history.
• Clint Irwin came on between the posts, and Landon Donovan chipped the resulting penalty kick easily up the middle to give LA a fifth-minute lead.
• The score was 2-0 in the 30th minute. Marcelo Sarvas took a pass from Donovan well above the Rapids box, then played it forward for Gordon, who with the outside of his right foot sent it behind him and into the box where Baggio Husidic collected it and curled a shot past Irwin and inside the right post.
• Gyasi Zardes made it 3-0 in first half stoppage time when he finished after Donovan redirected a Husidic pass into his path in Colorado’s box, and Donovan made it 4-0 two minutes into the second half, converting a second penalty of the contest after Chris Klute fouled Zardes in the box.
• Zardes nodded home an Stefan Ishizaki cross to make the score 5-0 in the 75th minute. Husidic completed the rout by finishing off another well-worked team goal and slotting home in the 86th minute.
• Galaxy coach Bruce Arena made one change to the team that claimed a 3-0 win against Chivas USA at StubHub Center. Todd Dunivant came in at left back for Robbie Rogers.
• LA GALAXY (4-4-2): Brian Rowe - Dan Gargan, Omar Gonzalez (Tommy Meyer 69), Leonardo, Todd Dunivant (Stefan Ishizaki 26) - Baggio Husidic, Marcelo Sarvas, Juninho, Landon Donovan - Alan Gordon (Chandler Hoffman 75), Gyasi Zardes.
TEAM NEWS
• The Galaxy’s five-game winning streak is their longest since the 2009 season, and matches the club’s longest since the end of the shootout era. The club record is a 15-game winning streak, set through the end of the 1997 season and the start of 1998 (one win by shootout).
• The six goals by the Galaxy in the rout of Colorado matched the club’s third-highest total ever in a game – the most they’ve scored since the 1998 season, when they had games of six, seven and eight goals. The six goals are the most by one team in an MLS game since 2012, when Seattle defeated Chivas USA 6-2.
• “Right now everything is clicking,” said defender Omar Gonzalez. “The ball movements are fantastic, the forwards are getting around and scoring goals, Gyasi [Zardes] has been unbelievable, [Alan] Gordon has been a great acquisition for us. Everyone is just firing on all cylinders. Juninho, Marcelo [Sarvas] are great in the midfield winning tons of balls; not allowing teams to counter us and protecting the back line. All around, guys coming off the bench as well, so it’s been great. It’s been fun and we just have to keep it going.”
• Landon Donovan added another chapter to his rewriting of MLS history, scoring two goals to move his career league total to 142. He was also credited with the game-winning goal, the 41st for his MLS career, also the most ever.
• With his two goals and two assists vs. Colorado, Donovan was involved in four goals in a game for the sixth time in his MLS career. It was his MLS-record 32nd career multiple-goal game and the 29th multiple-assist game of his career; he is now four assists away from the all-time record with 131.
• “We’re getting more and more comfortable with how we play. When Bruce [Arena] got here, it was very much about defending well and countering and being good in that way. And as the years have gone on, we’ve evolved into a team that tries to pass well, we try to move well, we try to move the right way, we try to create combinations and play the game the right way,” said Donovan. “If Barcelona or Arsenal scored some of the goals we scored this week, people would be talking about it for months on end. So I think it’s pretty impressive to see what we’ve done, and I’m enjoying it.”
• Baggio Husidic scored two goals in a game for the first time in his MLS career, and has four goals this season in his return to MLS. Husidic has three goals in the last three games.
• Gyasi Zardes scored two goals in a game for a second consecutive game and the third time in his MLS career (all this year). The goals have come after a three-game goalless drought; 13 of his 14 goals this season have come over the last 15 games.
• “My teammates are helping me. All these guys are older than me and I’m just trying to learn as much as I can from them,” said Zardes. “Landon is a phenomenal player and I’m just trying to learn as much as I can from him. As you can see in the recent games, he’s the one giving me all my assists and I’m just trying to build off that as much as I can from these guys because they’ve played professional soccer longer than I have.”
• It was also a second consecutive shutout for the Galaxy, their first back-to-back shutouts since April 6-12. Jaime Penedo was out of the lineup for the first time since April 6, away on international duty, as Brian Rowe made his first league start of the season.
• “Our injuries this year have really been in the back. We are just hanging on with bodies right now,” said Arena. “We are getting James [Riley] ready, but it’s still a little early for him. We wish we would have been able to get him some Galaxy II games, but it’s past the deadline to get him on the roster. We are just going to have to work him in through training and hopefully some game time.”
