match 21: Impact v Charleston 28.07 CCR 19h30

[François]

Wednesday, July 28, 2004, 7:30PM EDT
Battery Heads to Montreal

Charleston, SC - The Charleston Battery heads to Montreal Wednesday for a 7:30 PM game versus the first place Montreal Impact (Newsradio 730 WSC). Following the Montreal game Charleston will travel to Atlanta for a 7:45 PM game on Friday night (Newsradio 730 WSC).

Montreal defeated the Battery 1-0 in OT in a game played at Blackbaud Stadium on April 30. Midfielder Mauro Biello scored the deciding goal.

Montreal (12-4-4, 40 points) is currently in first place in the Eastern Conference and has the best record in the A-League. The Impact enters the game on the back of a 1-0 road win versus the Atlanta Silverbacks in a game played Saturday night in Atlanta.

Charleston (3-12-4, 19 points) enters the game looking to break a three game losing streak. Charleston lost 2-1 in OT to the Syracuse Salty Dogs in a game played at Blackbaud Stadium on Saturday night.

Montreal hired former Impact midfielder, Nick DeSantis as Head Coach in the off season. DeSantis captained Montreal from 1995 – 2001. DeSantis’s Assistant Coach for the 2004 season is Peter Pinizzotto the former Head Coach of the Toronto Lynx.

Montreal is traditionally one of the stronger A-League franchises although it has not won a Championship since 1994. Last season the Rochester Raging Rhinos knocked Montreal out of the playoffs in the Northeast Division finals.

The Impact received three top honors in 2003; A-League Coach of the Year (Bob Lilley), A-League Goalkeeper of the Year (Greg Sutton) and A-League Defender of the Year (Gabriel Gervais). Gervais and Sutton are key elements of a Montreal defense that has conceded only eleven goals this year, the fewest in the Eastern Conference.

The Charleston Battery's game versus the Atlanta Silverbacks on Friday is the fourth and final match between the two Clubs this year. Atlanta leads the series with two wins and a tie. The game is also the deciding match of the 2004 Southern Derby. Charleston needs a 3-0 win to retain the Southern Derby Cup.

The Southern Derby is a fan organized intra-season competition. In 2003 Charleston won the Southern Derby for the first time topping Atlanta and the Charlotte Eagles; in 2004 only Atlanta and Charleston feature in the Cup.

Madra Rua Listening Parties
There will be an official Charleston Battery listening party Wednesday and Friday night at Madra Rua Irish Pub, 1034 East Montague Avenue. For directions to Madra Rua please call 554-2522. All Charleston Battery road games are carried live on Newsradio 730 WSC and can also be heard via the web at www.charlestonbattery.com.

[Christian]

Une autre fantastique journee d'ete sur Montreal aujourd'hui!!!!!

J'espere qu'il ne pleuvera pas pour la partie de ce soir.

On a vraiment eu le pire printemps de ma vie et jusqu'a date l'ete est vraiment pourri.


Maudit que j'ai hate de partir pour des cieux plus clements. L'ete est deja assez court comme ca au Quebec sans que l'on se le fasse voler.

Oubliez-pas votre lainage ce soir. Apres tout on n'est qu'en juillet.

[Bxl Boy]

Celui qui nous a volé l'été pourrait bien nous voler l'hiver aussi
Enfin, euh, qu'il nous laisse la neige, qu'il se barre juste avec les températures inférieures à -15

[PUMPKIN16]

Belle victoire 2-0 avec un but des 30 mètres !!!

[François]

Belle victoire 2-0 avec un but des 30 mètres !!!

De retour du stade et oui, une super frappe de Grande en pleine lucarne!

[Bxl Boy]

Deux tirs, deux buts, deux siestes (une avant, une après), un joint, une pipe et au lit !

[Bxl Boy]

Quelques stats après cette victoire sans relief :

- C'était la septième fois qu'on s'imposait 2-0
- Sur 21 matches, c'était le 13e lors duquel le marquoir affichait toujours 0-0 à la mi-temps
- Ca fait 4 fois de suite qu'on ouvre la marque à domicile : un record cette saison
- Depuis son retour au jeu, à Richmond, Sebrango marque en moyenne un but toutes les 128 minutes

Ces chiffres et de nombreux autres en Interactif - statistiques

[François]

Sutton wears down Battery
Bags 13th shutout. Impact 2, Battery 0 Goalie ties club record as Grande, Sebrango provide fireworks

PAT HICKEY
The Gazette


Thursday, July 29, 2004
Coach Nick DeSantis wasn't worried when the Impact headed to the dressing room at halftime in a 0-0 tie with the Charleston Battery.

"We talked about it at halftime and I told the guys that you have to be patient against a team that's as well-coached as Charleston," DeSantis said. "I thought they were getting tired and I told our guys to keep pushing the ball wide."

The strategy paid off as the Impact scored twice in a six-minute span early in the second half en route to a 2-0 victory. The win enabled the Impact to open a six-point lead over second-place Rochester in the A-League's Eastern Conference.

The game opened up after Sandro Grande went wide and scored on a 45-yard drive to the opposite top corner in the 53rd minute.

"That was a world-class goal and that forced them to change their strategy a bit," DeSantis said. "They had to take more chances, but that also opened some opportunities for us.

And the Impact took advantage in the 58th minute as Mauro Biello made a strong run up the right side of the field and then found Eddie Sebrango in the box.

"I knew he was going to try to get the ball into the middle, and I just went to the spot where I thought the ball would be," said Sebrango, who showed no ill effects from the sore knee that forced him to leave Saturday's game in Atlanta at halftime.

While the Impact was putting two goals on the board, goalkeeper Greg Sutton claimed a share of a team record when he recorded his 13th shutout of the season. That ties the mark set by Paolo Ceccarelli in 1996.

"It's exciting, but it goes back to what I've been saying all season: we have a solid defensive club and I couldn't do it without a lot of help from the other guys on the team," Sutton said.

The 'keeper said his focus coming into this season was the same it has been throughout his career. "One of the things I've concentrated on is lowering my goals-against average, and it's something I've been able to do each of the four seasons I've been here," he said.

Sutton was credited with three saves and the biggest came with two minutes left in regulation time when he preserved the shutout by tipping a ball headed for the top corner.

"It was a strange game because you'd go 10, 15 minutes without any action and then have a flurry. It really got busy after we went up 2-0 and they started pressing.

"He deserves the record," DeSantis said of Sutton. "He's had a great season, which is why the national team has called him up for the next round of (World Cup) qualifying."

The announced attendance was 9,425, but the crowd didn't look as large as some previous games when fans lined the grassy areas in the end zone, a vantage point that was a trifle damp last night.

In other local soccer action, the expansion Xtreme blanked the Rochester Ravens in W-League women's playoff action. The Xtreme advances to the four-team conference final in New Jersey.

phickey@thegazette.canwest.com