Montreal Impact 1 Bordeaux 2
As of last Saturday, only 6000 tickets had been sold for the Montreal Impact's friendly match against FC Girondins de Bordeaux, who recently won the Champions trophy in Montreal that same day.
Once again showing that there is a keen interest in high quality soccer in Montreal, the fans showed up in droves and filled Saputo Stadium as 11,948 witnessed a great soccer game with some truly awe inspiring plays as the Impact kept up to, but eventually lost to Bordeaux by a score of 2-1.
"We knew that Bordeaux was a team with a superior calibre, but we had a clear game plan and we knew that we needed to stay organized to play well," declared Impact head coach Marc Dos Santos. "We allowed them to play in front of us, which enabled us to adapt during the match. We also took advantage of the opportunities we had in couterattack, which allowed us to score a goal, nearly two."
Dos Santos also went on to say that he was slightly upset with his players, noting that this proved that they could not pick and choose which games they would show up for and which they could be less aggressive. "I think we should be proud of ourselves because we followed our game plan the full 90 minutes. We must always play with the same intensity level as tonight."
Bordeaux got on the board first when midfielder Henri Saivet opened the score at the 37th minute of play. What was more important in this goal was the 5 short, quick passes in the Impact's end that had everyone awestruck as the ball seemingly found it's way past all defenders and Matt Jordan as well. truly an awe inspiring goal to which both sides of the crowd acknowledged, regardless of their allegiance.
Montreal tied it up at the 66th minute pn a play that started out as an innocent entry into the Bordeaux zone and ended up with midfielder Ciaran O’Brien, named the Impact Player of the Match, splitting the Bordeaux defense with his pass to midfielder Tony Donatelli, who had entered the game at the 45th minute. Donatelli one timed his reception inside the box past a sprawling Ulrich Ramé to tie it up.
Bordeaux scored the game-winning goal at the 80th minute. Following a cross from midfielder Jaroslav Plasil that was deflected by forward Jussie Ferreira Vieira, defender Yoann Gouffran netted the ball as he was on the ground, beating Matt Jordan to his left.
Impact 'keeper Matt Jordan got his first start after having been replaced by Srdjan Djekanovic in the last four outings. He fared rather well, facing 11 shots and notably standing out at the 78th minute when forward David Bellion took a low shot from about 25 meters, which Jordan stopped by diving to his right. While Jordan appeared tentative on some plays, we also got a glimpse of the almost unflappable Jordan that carried the Imapct to the CONCACAF quarterfinals last season.
The Impact will be back at it on Saturday as they head to Miami and then they will conclude their series of international games when they come back home to host River Plate, next Tuesday, at 7:30 pm, at Saputo Stadium.
Tickets are still available through Admission (514-790-1245 / admission.com) or at the ticketing office of Saputo Stadium. But if tonight's attendance was in indication, you better get them soon.
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