Aug 11 Impact Look to End Portland's Streak, Continue Theirs

The Montreal Impact are unbeaten in their last 4 games and after Sunday's 1-0 win over Minnesota, are presently sitting in a playoff spot, 6th, in the USL Division One standings. Their quest this Wednesday to add to their streak will be met with a certain resistance as they will host the number one Portland Timbers who are on a little streak of their own.

Portland has only lost once in 21 games so far. They started off with a 1-0 loss to Vancouver during their first game of the season and have since remained undefeated (11-0-9). The Timbers also lead the league both on offense, with 32 goals, and on defense, having only conceded 11 goals since the start of the season.

Coach Marc Dos Santos notes that Portland has been basically injury free for most of the season. “Portland has one of the best defenses in the league. Their whole team has been playing together since the beginning of the season and it helps a lot to be constant. Wednesday we will not have a lot of opportunities, so we will need to take advantage of every occasion we get.”

Look for Impact 'keeper Srdjan Djekanovic, to face the Timbers. He's on a 3-1-3 record and has three shutouts so far this season.

Newly acquired midfielder Leighton O’Brien should be available to play his first match with the Impact and defender Nevio Pizzolitto and forward Roberto Brown, who received their 5th caution of the season in the last game will also be in uniform for this important game. They will serve their one game suspension against Cleveland on August 18th.

Team captain, Mauro Biello will also be reaching a personal milestone on this night as he is only 9 minutes away from the 25,000 minutes played mark during his career with the Impact. “We need to earn a maximum number of points at home. With good results, we will gain confidence.

Biello went on to say that the team would be looking to make a statement. “With a win, we would certainly be sending a message to other teams in the league. It will be important to keep in mind that we are facing the top team in the standings because this is a team that could hurt us at any time in the match. We will need to play at our best if we want to get a good result.”

pic by photos pépé

Tags: Marc dos santos \ Mauro Biello \ Montreal Impact \ Portland timbers \ Srdjan Djekanovic \ USL

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