ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – The Montreal Impact will play its third preseason game in the Rowdies Suncoast Invitational against Canadian rivals Toronto FC, this Wednesday at 4pm ET, at the Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex in Clearwater. This match will also be broadcast live on impactmontreal.com.
“It’s another important game in our preparation,” said Impact head coach Mauro Biello. “Getting an opportunity to play against an MLS team will give us a good indication of where we are at this point in the preseason. Tomorrow’s game will be treated as a good exercise for us in continuing our physical form and we will be ready for our game on Saturday where we will be able to push our players for 90 minutes.”
Last Saturday, the Impact won its second preseason game of the tournament, defeating D.C. United by a 4-1 scoreline. Forward Dominic Oduro tallied twice for the winners, while Michael Salazar and Romario Williams scored the other Montreal goals.
“We are getting ever closer to the start of this season on March 6, so we want to really see reflexes and an understanding over 90 minutes,” said defender Wandrille Lefèvre. “Not only do we want to show our attacking reflexes, but we also want to apply the work done on the movements of our defensive block and on preventive coverage.”
“We still have two preseason games left, and we’ve done well so far,” said midfielder Ignacio Piatti. “Tomorrow’s game against Toronto will be important in our preparation, because we want to start our season well against Vancouver. The group has been working very well together, and I hope we’ll do even better than we did last year.”
This will be Toronto FC’s ninth preseason game, following camps in California and Orlando. The Reds dropped their last game, Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Orlando City SC and Brazilian midfielder Kaka, who scored twice.
In its first tournament game, the Bleu-blanc-noir put up a great fight against NYCFC, who fielded many first-team regulars for an hour or more, but ultimately lost by a score of 1-0.
The Impact’s last game in Florida is scheduled for Saturday, February 27, at 7pm ET, against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
The Montreal Impact plays its 2016 home opener on Saturday, March 12, at 4pm ET (TVA Sports) at the Olympic Stadium against reigning regular season champions New York Red Bulls. On the previous Sunday, March 6, Montreal plays Vancouver Whitecaps FC at BC Place, at 5:30pm ET (RDS, TSN).
