The Montreal Impact stay invincible at home after a 2-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo. First half Goals ,from Felipe Martins and Marco Di Vaio, were enough to take care of business at Stade Saputo. With 21 shots in total, including 10 on target, the Impact bombarded a very busy Tally Hall, who kept the Dynamo in the game.
The first 25 minutes of the game were action-packed as Montreal exploded out of the gates with the clear intention to score early and score a lot. Players returning from injuries had a huge impact on the game, including Andrea Pisanu and Daniele Paponi. Talking of Paponi, the italian striker had a huge game as he was all over the field and the Dynamo could barely contain him.
On a commencé comme un feu d'artifice - Marco Schallibaum
With so many chances early in the half, nothing was more beautiful than a perfect pass from Patrice Bernier who finds Felipe Martins. Taking advantage of a mis-aligned Houston backline, the Brazilian finds a dead zone and controls the ball calmly.
The 2012 Felipe was back as he cooly slotted the ball between Tally Hall's long legs.
As 17,694 fans erupted in joy, the momemtum could have shifted quickly for the visiting team. As Matteo Ferrari ''tackled'' Will Bruin in the box, the referee did not hesitate to call a penalty kick. The debate ,on whether that was a foul or not , will wait for another day. But Giles Barnes , who steps to take the PK, shoots high and wide to a ironically cheering crowd.
Continuing to press the Dynamo, Montreal continued to be dangerous on and off the ball but it was a mistake that gave the hosts the second goal. Corey Ashe's back pass was going in no man's land , at least no man wearing Orange. Marco Di Vaio, who was playing high up the pitch to press, ran after the loose ball to face Tally Hall. The Serie A striker lobs Hall withoutremorse, showing yet again pure class with a magical scoring touch.
As expected, the second half could not sustain the same type of speed and rythym as Montreal closed the game and went for the counter attack. The Dynamo had a few chances from long range shots but nothing that Troy Perkins could not handle. But you felt the nervous energy that a 3rd goal was needed to finish off a B+ Houston Dynamo squad.
Counter attacks led by Sanna Nyassi and Marco Di Vaio almost resulted in a 3rd goal. But Tally Hall's multiple saves and the post helped keep the damage to 2 goals. The experienced Montreal defensive backline took care of the Dynamo's multiple crosses (30 open play crosses) , with Troy Perkins giving confidence to his team with confident hands on a few those crosses.
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