Montreal Impact advance in CONCACAF with 0-0 Decision Vs Real Esteli
The contest would end 0-0, however it was one of the 2 scenarios the Montreal Impact were hoping for as they eliminated Real Esteli of Nicaragua and now move ahead to the group stage in the CONCACAF Champions League.
The Impact needed either a tie or a win to ensure their advancement to the next level as they had already won game 1 by a score of 1-0 last week at Saputo Stadium. In what is arguably the Impacts most important victory in its history, they are now assured 6 more games as they join the 15 other teams vying for the CONCACAF championship.
Highlights were few and far between as Real Esteli could barely mount any real threat and the Impact, from my vantage point, continued to show their opponents much too much respect and let them dictate the play for a major part of the game.
I'll assume that the clinching of the preliminary round, although very satisfying for coach John Limniatis, will not stop him from ranting as he did after game 1 about the officiating...And for crying out loud, the man has a point !!
For the sake of argument, I'll only mention the flagrant occurrences as my editor has me on a word count.
- At the 19th minute, a kicked ball into the Impact's box saw Stefano Pesoli chasing it down and having his feet clipped out from under him with the non call resulting in Chanle Norales Suazo getting two golden opportunities on net.
- At the 67th, an Impact lob into the Real Esteli penalty area and with two defenders misplaying the ball, saw no other option but to pull Roberto Brown down from behind as he was on a clear break…no call…well actually, the play was called back due to another unknown infraction which resulted in a free kick from a harmless area instead of a penalty kick inside the box.
- At the 70th, Felix Brillant came streaking down field and just as he crossed the 18, was tripped up,.. No call yet, but 12 yards further in as he was face to face with keeper Carlos Mendieta, he was tripped again. The ref called this one giving the Impact a free kick 6 yards in front of the Nicaraguan goal. After many false starts with the net completely filled with players, Di Lorenzo rattles the ball of the goalie and then off the upright.
- At the 85th minute, Antonio Ribeiro running after a passed ball into Real Esteli territory was literally attacked from behind and brought down…no call.
How do you say "Pass the Rolaids" in Spanish, because I have a feeling Liniatis just inherited an ulcer. At the moment of this article, he had not as of yet commented on tonight's officiating, but the night is young..
The pressure to defend the 0-0 tie was slightly alleviated when the ref had no choice but to call Juan Pablo Chacon and charge him with a red card for body checking Félix Brillant as he utilized his great speed to arrive at the ball before Chacon as it headed into Real Esteli territory.
The Impact now move on to the group stage of the CONCACAF which will consist of four groups of four. All the teams in each group will play each other in a six-match round-robin system (three home games, three away games). The Impact will play its first game on September 17 at Saputo Stadium against Joe Public.
Montreal is placed in Group C along with Mexico’s Atlante FC, CD Olimpia of Honduras and Joe Public FC of Trinidad, which earlier eliminated the highly acclaimed New England Revolution with a 4:0 victory and a 6:1 aggregate total.
Meanwhile, it's back to USL business as Montreal will head home to play its next regular season game Friday, September 5 against the Minnesota Thunder.
Congratulations Impact! Canada is proud!
Bookmark
Email this
Trackback(0)
TrackBack URI for this entryComments (0)
Write comment
This content has been locked. You can no longer post any comments.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
