On Tuesday night the Montreal Impact will try and make history and be the first Canadian club to qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League Final. There is no doubt the second leg against Alajuelense at the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto will be a real challenge for the team from Québec. The Erizos rested the majority of their first team on Saturday night against Cartaginés and are completely focused on Tuesday.
But the Impact, who won the first leg in Montreal 2-0 on March 18 thanks to goals from Nacho Piatti and Victor Cabrera, enter the match with the advantage and will be going all in themselves.
Montreal Impact 90 Minutes from CCL Final
Who is in ? Who is out ?
The Montreal Impact have taken a nearly complete lineup to Costa Rica. They will be without Justin Mapp (fractured / dislocated elbow) and rookie Cameron Porter (ACL tear), who are both out with long term injuries. Keeper Evan Bush will return to the net after missing Montreal’s last MLS match against Orlando. Dilly Duka and Andres Romero should also both be fit to be included in the squad.
Who is Saying What:
Impact Head Coach Frank Klopas: “We have some guys that are fast. But at the end of the day, [Alajuelense] are the team that has to come out and push the game to score. We can keep the game at 0-0, and we go through. We have to manage the game. We know they’re going to come out hard. They’re playing at home, with their atmosphere. We just have to be mentally ready and be prepared for a fast start for them.”
Impact Defender Laurent Ciman: “Ce match, il faut le jouer comme si c’était 0-0 et le gagner, tout simplement, a résumé Laurent Ciman. Il faut vraiment le démarrer avec une concentration optimale et ne pas tomber dans le piège de se dire: «On a une avance et on va jouer dans un fauteuil.» Ils vont nous prendre à la gorge dès le début et ce sera à nous de rester concentrés.” (La Presse – @PascalMilano)
Bush: “we want to stay compact, not necessarily park the bus, but certainly pick our moments.” #IMFC #CCL
— Patrick Leduc (@patleduc15) April 3, 2015
3 Things to Watch For:
– The first 15 minutes will be crucial for the Impact. They will be going into a hostile environment and making sure they establish a foothold in the match from the outset will be important. Conceding an early goal could be disastrous. Don’t forget, Alajuelense scored five goals at home against D.C. United in the CCL quarterfinal.
-This is CONCACAF and anything can happen. Last week it was announced that Salvadoran referee Joel Aguilar will be charged with officiating the match. In a hostile and emotional match the Impact will have to keep their cool. CONCACAF is no stranger to phantom decisions from officials. Not so long ago Pachuca was awarded a dubious penalty that was quickly forgotten thanks to Porter’s historic heroics.
-The same question keeps cropping up for the Impact this season, chief among them being “where will the goals come from?” With Duka and Romero both back to fitness it will be interesting to see if Klopas shifts Dominic Oduro back up front and leaves Jack McInerney on the bench to start the match.
Where to Watch:
The match starts at 10:00pm EST and can be seen in Canada on both TVA Sports and Sportsnet World. The Montreal Impact have also set up a viewing party if you are in the Montreal area at the Peel Pub.
The Impact will return to MLS play next weekend against the Houston Dynamo.
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