“That team is probably one of the best on this side of the world,” said Impact head coach John Limniatis. “It’s a great opportunity to measure ourselves against a very good club and I think that we have good chances of having a positive result. To do so we need to play at our best. I’m expecting Atlante FC to be hard on the ball. If we win tomorrow, we will be in the driver’s seat.”
“It is probably one of the most prestigious clubs that I played against with the Impact and it will not be in a friendly game, noted Impact veteran defender Nevio Pizzolitto. It’s a team that moves the ball well and they are more creative than Joe Public. They have attacking threats from their midfielders and forwards. If we stay organized and we don’t start chasing players around, we will do good. We are also expecting them to press us.
In the first game of the group phase the Impact shut out Joe Public FC 2-0 last Wednesday at Saputo Stadium. Stefano Pesoli and Tony Donatelli scored the two goals for the Impact.
“It’s a big challenge so I hope that we will start the game like we did against Joe Public,” said midfielder Félix Brillant. “We know that it’s a very good team so we will have to step up our game to their level. It’s a team that likes to play the ball and switch positions so we will have to stay compact and be mentally ready to defend.”
In the month of September, the Impact is playing an impressive number of 11 games: six regular season games, three CONCACAF Champions League games and two playoff games against Seattle. Also, five of those 11 games are played on the road.
“Physically we are a little bit tired but mentally I think that we are strong enough to realize how big this game is,” added Pizzolitto. “We played all season to be in this position so we will put everything out on the field.”
Goalkeeper Matt Jordan registered three shutouts in as many games in the CONCACAF Champions League. He had allowed only two goals in four games in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship. In seven tournament games, he has a record of 4-1-2, five shutouts and a Goal allowed average of 0.286.
In their first game of the group stage, Atlante FC beat CD Olimpia 1-0, September 18 at home in Mexico. Arturo Munoz scored the game-winning goal in the 26th minute of play. A total of nine cautions were given out during game.
So far, around 10,000 tickets have been sold for Wednesday’s game. It is still possible to purchase tickets for Wednesday’s game through the Admission Network at 514-790-1245 or admission.com, or at the Saputo Stadium ticket office.
OTHER FACTS
• In group C, the Impact joined the two seeded teams Atlante FC (Mexico) and CD Olimpia (Honduras), as well as Joe Public FC (Trinidad & Tobago), which also won the preliminary round.
• In the home-and-away series on aggregate goals giving access to group C, the Impact had shut out the Nicaraguan champion team, Real Estelí FC, 1-0.
• Atlante FC won the CONCACAF Champions Cup in 1983 and it finished runner-up four times in 82 years.
• After nine games played this season, Atlante is ranked third in the Mexican championship with a 4-1-4 record.
• The group stage consists of four groups of four. Every team in each group will play each other in a round-robin tournament for a total of six games (three home games, three away games) from September 16 to October 30.
• The top two clubs from each group will advance to the knock-out phase and play a home-and-away series
IMPACT GAMES IN THE CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP STAGE
• Wednesday, October 1 – IMPACT @ CD Olimpia – @ Honduras
- Live at 10 pm: bold TV, CBCSports.ca
- Tape delayed: CBC (midnight)
• Wednesday, October 8 – IMPACT @ Joe Public – @ Trinidad & Tobago
- Live at 8 pm: bold TV, CBCSports.ca
- Tape delayed: CBC (midnight)
• Tuesday, October 21 – CD Olimpia @ IMPACT
- Live at 8 pm: Radio-Canada.ca/sports, bold TV, CBCSports.ca, CKAC Sports
- Tape delayed: Radio-Canada (11:45 pm), CBC (midnight)
• Tuesday, October 28 – IMPACT @ Atlante FC – @ Mexico
- Live at 10 pm: bold TV, CBCSports.ca
- Tape delayed CBC (midnight)
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Source: Patrick Vallée, Montreal Impact
Info: 514-328-3668, Ext. 227
