IMPACT BEATS TORONTO 1-0, CLIMBS TO 1ST PLACE IN DIVISION
MONTREAL, June 6, 2003 — Martin Nash scored his first goal in a Montreal uniform and Greg Sutton picked up his fourth shutout of the season, Friday, as the Impact beat the Toronto Lynx 1-0 in front of 6,872 spectators at Claude Robillard Stadium. The Montreal squad now has a total of five shutouts overall this season, three over the last three games.
"We can play better than we did tonight, but it was a good win, a character win. Although Toronto played well, we were able to make it happen," said Impact head coach Bob Lilley. "Martin Nash showed that great players make great plays, while Greg Sutton also played very well."
This was only the Impact’s second home game this season, but Montreal extended its undefeated streak to seven games (5-0-2), which ties a team record. The record was first established in 1993 and was tied five times after that, from 1994 to 2002.
The victory pushed the Montreal team up to first place in the Northeast Division with a 5-1-2 record, two points ahead of the Syracuse Salty Dogs, who lost 1-0 at home, Friday, against the Charleston Battery.
Nash (photo) scored the game’s only goal on a free kick from 20 yards out at the 51st minute of play, bending the ball into the upper corner, to the left of Lynx goalkeeper Theo Zagar. Nash has four assists so far this season, but it was his first goal in five games since he signed with the Impact.
"It’s good to get that first goal out of the way," said Nash. "That’s pretty much the kind of play we practice during the week. But Eddy (Sebrango) made a great play to get the free kick. It was an important play because Toronto wasn’t giving us any room in the midfield."
Eduardo Sebrango earned the free kick for Montreal, just outside the penalty area, when he stripped the ball away from defender Adrian Serioux. Serioux had no choice but to bring Sebrango down and he was given a yellow card on the play.
Greg Sutton kept the Impact ahead when he deprived Ali Ngon of a goal at the 57th by diving to his right and deflecting the ball away. At the 74th, he punched away a close-range shot from Ryan Lucas.
"It doesn’t matter who’s in first, who’s last in the standings. Toronto really played well and we had to be solid defensively to shut them down," said Sutton, who picked up his second shutout in as many games against the Lynx this season. "It’s a good win in front of a good crowd and we’ll have to keep it going in Toronto on Sunday."
The Impact and the Lynx will meet again Sunday afternoon at Centennial Park Stadium in Etobicoke (4 pm, live on CJAD, CKAC).
SOMMAIRE/GAME SUMMARY
Impact de Montréal 1
Toronto Lynx 0
Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard
Buteur/Goal scorer:
51: MTL Martin Nash
Formations partantes/Starting line-ups
MTL: Greg Sutton, Jason DiTullio, Nevio Pizzolitto, Gabriel Gervais, David Fronimadis, Nick DeSantis, Zé Roberto, Patrick Leduc (Mark Rowland 74, Chris Williams 89), Martin Nash (Drew Kopp 79), Eduardo Sebrango, Mauro Biello (Abraham François 64).
TOR: Theo Zagar, Jan Veenhof (Nicholas Blicharski 85), Mauricio Vincello, Josué Mayard (Sebastian Barclay 79), Tyler Hughes (Adrian Serioux 45), Brian Ashton, David DiPlacido, Joe Mattacchione, Robbie Aristodemo (Elvis Thomas 71), Nikola Vignjevic, Ali Ngon (Ryan Lucas 67).
MTL : TOR Buts/Goals – 1:0 Tirs/Shots – 3:7 Arrêts/Saves – 6:1 Fautes/Fouls – 20:21 Hors-jeux/Offsides – 6:3 Corners – 4:7 Avert./Cautions - TOR: Adrian Serioux 50 Assist./Attend.: 6872 Arbitre/Referee Ryan Feron Juges de touche/Linesmen Nick Theodorakis, Daniel Belleau 4e officiel/4th official Bogdan Stanescu -30- SOURCE: bcomm INFO: Stéphane Banfi 514-328-3668 (ext. 27)
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