In a game dominated 14-2 by Montreal in shots, the Impact kept sustained pressure on the Timbers throughout the game, without being able to capitalize.
Portland, who settled for a 2-2 tie against the Rochester Raging Rhinos Saturday night, played a solid game defensively, staving of numerous Impact attacks.
This was Impact forward Daniel Antoniuk’s first game against his former team. Antoniuk spent three seasons with the Timbers before joining the Impact in March.
With the tie, the Impact remains in fourth place in USL D1 standings, with 18 points, two points behind the Rochester Raging Rhinos and the Timbers, tied in first place with 20 points, and a point behind the Vancouver Whitecaps (19 points).
The Impact remains unbeaten at home this season (3-0-2) and dominates its opponents 9-1 in goals, at home.
Goalkeeper Andrew Weber, who earned his second shutout, started his third consecutive game for the Impact.
Defenders Jason DiTullio (5,019) and Adam Braz (5,027) reached the 5,000 career minutes played mark with the Impact.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
13th minute – After controlling the ball in the box on the left wing, Impact forward Daniel Antoniuk took a point-blank shot. Portland Timbers goalkeeper Bayard Elfvin made the save by coming out to cut off the angle.
20th minute – Just inside the box on the right wing, Impact forward Mauricio Salles took a low diagonal shot, saved by Elfvin who dove to his right.
89th minute – On a free kick from Masahiro Fukasawa, Impact defender Nevio Pizzolitto controlled the ball with his back to the net, at the top of the box. Quickly turning around, he tried chipping the goalkeeper but Bayard Elfvin swatted the ball wide.
POST GAME COMMENTS
HEAD COACH NICK DE SANTIS
"We started the game well with good scoring chances in the first 15 minutes, but after that we didn’t create enough chances. Today’s game was more difficult for our midfield. There was no space on the field and we should have used the wings more, especially since they defended with 10 players behind the ball."
FORWARD DANIEL ANTONIUK
"I’m disappointed because we wanted to win. We tried until the very end, but today we weren’t able to score. We were expecting that from the Timbers. They worked hard to get a point from us. There is no excuse for this kind of results."
DEFENDER GABRIEL GERVAIS
"We lacked finishing. We had trouble with our passing throughout the game. They closed down the play from the beginning to the end. A goal would have allowed us to have more space on the field."
MISSING FROM THE LINE-UP
Team – Player – Position - Reason
MTL – Antonio Ribeiro (M) – hamstring – day to day
MTL – Greg Sutton (G) – finger - return date TBD
MTL - Leonardo Di Lorenzo (M) – foot - return date TBD
MTL - Gerry Argento (G) – concussion - return date TBD
MTL – David Fronimadis (D) – knee - return date TBD
NEXT GAMES
Date – Teams – Stadium – Time
Sat. June 24 - Impact @ Rochester – PAETEC Park - 7:35 pm
Wed. June 28 – Rochester @ Impact - Claude-Robillard Sports Complex – 7:30 pm
GAME SUMMARY
Impact line-up
Andrew Weber, Gabriel Gervais, Nevio Pizzolitto, Adam Braz (Jason DiTullio 66), Mauricio Vincello, Lars Lyssand, Zé Roberto, Kirk Wilson (Joel Bailey 72), Mauro Biello (Masahiro Fukasawa 64), Daniel Antoniuk, Mauricio Salles (Massimo Di Ioia 92)
Portland line-up
Elfvin Bayard, Salim Bullen, Scot Thompson, Jacobi Goodfellow, Mike Randolph, Luke Kreamalmeyer (Sergio Iniguez 73), Mubarike Chisoni (Oral Bullen 77), Lee Morrison, Tom Poltl, Byron Alvarez, Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar
Statistics: Portland - Impact
Shots: 2-14
Saves: 10-1
Fouls: 17-18
Offsides: 5-4
Corners: 3-7
Cautions
POR: Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar 31
MTL: Zé Roberto 62
Officials
Silviu Petrescu, Jean-François Corrivault, Mathieu Bourdeau, Carol-Anne Chénard
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Source : Patrick Vallée, Montreal Impact
Info : 514-328-3668 Ext. 27
