MONTRÉAL IMPACT vs SPORTING KANSAS CITY

STADE SAPUTO, Montréal, Qué.

July 4, 2012 (WEEK 18, MLS Game #158)

7 p.m. ET (TSN/RDS; KSMO)



The Montréal Impact and Sporting Kansas City meet for the second time this season on the Fourth of July when the clubs face off at Stade Saputo. The Impact are coming off back-to-back 3-0 defeats, last weekend falling at D.C. United. Sporting KC have also dropped back-to-back games, falling 1-0 at home to Chicago last Friday. The Impact’s 2-0 win in KC earlier this season was Sporting’s first home loss of the season.



REFEREE: Sorin Stoica. SAR (bench): Kermit Quisenberry; JAR (opposite): Craig Lowry; 4th: John McCloskey

MLS Career: 2 games; FC/gm: 23.5; Y/gm: 4.0; R: 0; pens: 1

DOWNLOAD FULL GAME GUIDE HERE (PDF)



INJURY REPORT:

MONTREAL IMPACT – OUT: DF Matteo Ferrari (R quad strain); DF Nelson Rivas (abdomen); FW Bernardo Corradi (L knee ACL tear); FW Andrew Wenger (L hamstring strain); FW Evan James (L ankle sprain)

SPORTING KANSAS CITY – OUT: DF Cyprian Hedrick (L fibula fracture); GK Jon Kempin (R ankle fracture); QUESTIONABLE: MF Korede Aiyegbusi (R knee sprain); PROBABLE: FW Bobby Convey (R calf strain); MF Paulo Nagamura (R abductor strain); DF Shawn Singh (L quad strain)



INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none



SUSPENDED: none



WARNINGS:

SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: MTL: Davy Arnaud, Felipe Martins, Sanna Nyassi … KC: Aurelien Collin, Jimmy Nielsen

SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: MTL: Bernardo Corradi, Tyson Wahl … KC: Chance Myers, Julio Cesar

HEAD-TO-HEAD

ALL-TIME (1 meeting): Impact 1 win, 2 goals … Sporting 0 wins, 0 goals …Ties 0

RETURN MATCHES: 9/22: Montreal Impact vs. Sporting Kansas City, 1 p.m. ET (TSN/RDS)

• The teams are meeting for the second time. Goals from Felipe and Patrice Bernier gave the Impact a 2-0 win on May 5, Sporting’s only loss this season at Livestrong Sporting Park.

• Coaches record: Jesse Marsch vs. P1 W1 L0 T0 … Peter Vermes vs. MTL: P1 W0 L1 T0



LAST MEETING (MLS)

5/5: KC 0, MTL 2 (Felipe 30; Bernier 64)

• In the 30th minute, the Impact scored the game's opening goal. Justin Braun laid the ball off for Felipe, who settled in space and bent a left-footer from well outside the area past the fingertips of a diving Jimmy Nielsen and just inside the left post.

• The lead was doubled after Lamar Neagle cut into the penalty area on a breakaway and was hauled down by Aurélien Collin in the 62nd minute. Patrice Bernier calmly stepped to the spot and converted to seal the victory.

• Impact goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts made six saves for his second straight clean sheet. Three of those stops kept Sporting from going up early.

• SPORTING KANSAS CITY (4-3-3): Jimmy Nielsen - Chance Myers, Aurelien Collin, Matt Besler, Michael Harrington - Graham Zusi, Julio Cesar (Paulo Nagamura 79), Roger Espinoza - Kei Kamara, C.J. Sapong (Teal Bunbury 66), Bobby Convey.

• MONTREAL IMPACT (4-4-2): Donovan Ricketts - Jeb Brovsky, Nelson Rivas (Matteo Ferrari 62), Hassoun Camara, Tyson Wahl - Sinisa Ubiparipovic (Andrew Wenger 84), Felipe Martins, Patrice Bernier, Lamar Neagle - Justin Braun, Eduardo Sebrango (Davy Arnaud 70).

MONTREAL IMPACT

The Montréal Impact went down to a 3-0 defeat for the second consecutive match, this time dispatched by D.C. United on Saturday evening at RFK Stadium. The Impact are in eighth place in the Eastern Conference with 18 points from 18 matches.

HIGHLIGHTS: DC 3, MTL 0

LAST MATCH

• United opened the lead in first-half stoppage time. After picking the ball up inside the Impact half, Chris Pontius raced toward goal, turning a defender before thumping a left-footed shot inside the back post.

• The lead was doubled five minutes into the second half. Branko Boskovic whipped a left-footed free kick from the right into the heart of the penalty area that Robbie Russell headed past a helpless Evan Bush in the Impact goal.

• United completed the scoreline in second-half stoppage time, when Hamdi Salihi smashed home a rebound from a saved Nick DeLeon shot from close range.

• Impact head coach Jesse Marsch made six changes to the team that dropped a 3-0 decision to Toronto FC at Stade Saputo. Evan Bush came in between the posts for Donovan Ricketts, Calum Mallace and Tyson Wahl came into the back four for Hassoun Camara and Jeb Brovsky, Justin Mapp and Sinisa Ubiparipovic entered the midfield for Lamar Neagle and the suspended Patrice Bernier, and Sanna Nyassi started up top for Marco Di Vaio.

• MONTREAL IMPACT (4-4-1-1): Evan Bush - Calum Mallace (Jeb Brovsky 46), Zarek Valentin, Shavar Thomas, Tyson Wahl - Davy Arnaud, Felipe Martins (Marco Di Vaio 46), Collen Warner (Hassoun Camara 68), Justin Mapp - Sinisa Ubiparipovic - Sanna Nyassi.

TEAM NEWS

• After scoring nine goals in a three-game span, including back-to-back home wins where they scored four goals, the Impact have been shut out by 3-0 scorelines in consecutive games following their weekend loss at D.C. United.

• “Our guys have a lot of miles on their legs. We’ve got a lot of minutes behind a lot of guys, and it showed tonight. In the heat, we just had nothing in the tank,” said Impact head coach Jesse Marsch. “It would’ve been obviously more interesting if we can get into half without giving up the goal, but I feel for our guys tonight because they just have nothing left right now. … We’ve got to figure out how to refill because we’ve got another big game coming at us on Wednesday.”

• Marsch gave MLS debuts to two players in the back, rookie Calum Mallace and goalkeeper Evan Bush, who played with the Impact in the NASL in 2010.

• “It was time to call on them. It’s a fast game, and in the heat, things come at them quick, it’s not an easy game to play in. I thought that under the conditions they both put a lot into it,” Marsch said. “As a group, it’s not like we just laid down, we tried to continue to push even though we gave up a goal at the end, we didn’t pack it in. That was a good sign for what we’re about. We’ve got to keep calling on that kind of heart and desire.”

• With Mallace coming in at right back, Zarek Valentin moved into central defense alongside Shavar Thomas.

• “I think Zarek [Valentin] had a pretty good game. I think Shavar [Thomas] held up OK too,” said Marsch. “It was just a tough game. They’ve got a lot of offensive weapons, and again, what would that game look like if we managed to get in at half, and see what the game’s like at that point. We’re in a tough moment right now, heavy legs, we’re beat up a little bit.”

• With Patrice Bernier suspended following a decision by the MLS Disciplinary Committee, Sinisa Ubiparipovic came into the attacking midfield role, his first start since May 5.

• “We deal with suspensions and injuries, and we’ve dealt with things all year,” said Davy Arnaud. “Patrice [Bernier] is important for us, but we’ve had guys injured plenty this year and you have to adjust.”



SPORTING KANSAS CITY

Sporting Kansas City suffered a second defeat in as many games, dropping a 1-0 decision to the Chicago Fire on Friday evening at Livestrong Sporting Park. Sporting are in third place in the Eastern Conference with 29 points from 14 matches.

HIGHLIGHTS: SKC 0, CHI 1

LAST MATCH

• The game's lone goal came after 58 minutes. On a swift counterattack, the Fire's Marco Pappa breaking down the middle, fed Chris Rolfe on the left, then slotted the return ball low between goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen and Matt Besler and into the back of the net from the heart of the area.

• Sporting head coach Peter Vermes made no changes to the team that fell to a 4-0 defeat by Philadelphia Union at PPL Park.

• SPORTING KANSAS CITY (4-2-3-1): Jimmy Nielsen - Chance Myers, Lawrence Olum (Matt Besler 19), Aurelien Collin, Seth Sinovic - Julio Cesar (Peterson Joseph 82), Roger Espinoza - Kei Kamara, Graham Zusi, C.J. Sapong (Soony Saad 72) - Teal Bunbury.

TEAM NEWS

• Sporting KC lost for just the second time this season at home. It was their second consecutive defeat, both by shutout; all four KC losses this season have come in shutouts.

• “We fought very well all the way to the end. I’m proud of the team the way that they went all the way forward all throughout the game,” said SKC manager Peter Vermes. “From that respect it was good, unfortunately we came up on the wrong end but it was a good performance we were just on the wrong side of the result.”

• Sporting KC matched their season-high with 27 attempts at goal, equaling the total they had in their 3-0 win vs. New England on March 17.

• “We were knocking on the door the whole time, and we were all thinking that one was going to go in. And once we got that first one, we were going to push for a winner,” said Soony Saad, who made his fourth consecutive appearance. “But this happens sometimes in soccer. You can shoot as many shots as you can, but if they have a good goalie and get lucky a couple times, you don’t get the breaks.”

• Sporting have now gone 262 minutes with scoring in league play. “The last five minutes, we created so many chances,” goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen said. “It was just bad luck and unbelievable goalkeeping. I knew before the game that he was an awesome keeper, and he pulled out some unbelievable saves. He had two or three where the whole stadium thought it was a goal.”

• Lawrence Olum made his fourth consecutive start in central defense, but he was forced off after just 19 minutes with a groin strain. Matt Besler came on for his first appearance since May 27.

• “I was going with the way the game was so we were fine and unfortunately (Lawrence) Olum went down and somebody has to make a move,” said Vermes. “So I think he was dying out there at the end a little bit just as we thought that would be the case but he did a good job hanging in there.”

• Besler was out following an emergency appendectomy, and if he struggles to recover and Olum is still out, Vermes said converted midfielder Konrad Warzycha could slot into central defense. “We’ll put him in the group as well,” Vermes said. “If he has to, he’ll come in and make his impact.”

• Bobby Convey was expected to be available for the first time since May 19, but will not make the trip to Québec. But Vermes said he could be ready for the visit by the Houston Dynamo.

• “His fitness is there,” Vermes said. “It’s getting there now. I wouldn’t say it’s 90 minutes, but maybe around 60. Hopefully, he’s going to get some serious minutes coming up now. He’s got to get back in a routine, especially after being injured for the last month.”