Montreal Impact Preview

The Montreal Impact had a disappointing end to the 2008 season losing to the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Semi-Finals of the USL-1 playoffs, but a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League has made up for that. It has also provided the Impact with the opportunity to be fit and in form earlier than normal, having played CONCACAF Champions League games early in 2009. The addition of Eduardo Sebrango from the Whitecaps, the league’s 3rd ranked goal-scorer in 2008, will surely help Montreal make an impact in 2009. “He’s a great teammate,” says Montreal’s Joey Gjertsen. “I think everyone can expect big things from Sebrango.” The Impact has a lot of positives this season with a very strong defense and potent offense, something that isn’t lost on Gjertsen: “We have a solid defense and have been scoring in bunches in pre-season, so things look good.”

Montreal’s biggest concern may in fact be burn-out. Pre-season training in Italy, followed by CONCACAF Champions League play prior to the start of the season, could weigh heavily on the squad as the season progresses. Despite the potential fatigue factor, the Montreal Impact will compete for the USL-1 regular season title with a long playoff run in their future. If the Impact can put it all together, Montreal will be a strong candidate for 2009 USL-1 Champions.

Next Preview: Vancouver Whitecaps FC

-TG

Canada goes down to Costa Rica

Canada lost 2 - 1 to Costa Rica and are now out of the U-20 CONCACAF Tournament and won't be heading for Egypt. Things certainly improved from the last time around and the play of Randy Edwini-Bonsu has to have the Whitecaps excited that they may have a goalscoer to replace Eduardo Sebrango.

Next up, the Canadian women take on England tomorrow for the Cyprus Cup. Hopefully the ladies can win and Christine Sinclair picks up 2 more goals to reach 100. How cool would it be if the game winner was her 100th?

Canada's men's U-20 team won 2-0 over Mexico

Canada's men's U-20 team won 2-0 over Mexico today in its second match at the 2009 CONCACAF Men's Under-20 Championship. Despite being forced down to 10 men in the second half, Canada rallied to score two goals in a must-win against Mexico. Randy Edwini-Bonsu scored both goals while Adam Street posted the clean sheet at Marvin Lee Stadium in Macoya, Trinidad & Tobago.

It was a huge win for Canada after losing their tournament opener.

Nice to see Whitecap Edwini-Bonsu to score a pair of goals. A lot of pressure will be on Randy when he plays for the Whitecaps this season after the Caps lost their two top scorers in Eduardo Sebrango and Nicholas Addlery in the off-season.

Canada wraps up round-robin play Wednesday against Costa Rica.

The loss was the second for Mexico and , combined with a 0-0 draw between Trinidad & Tobago and Costa Rica, eliminated the 10-time CONCACAF champion from contention. The results left Trinidad and Costa Rica atop Group B with four points each, one ahead of Canada. Mexico was last with zero points and only a match against host Trinidad & Tobago remaining on Wednesday. Canada will face Costa Rica on Wednesday with the winner advancing to the semifinals. A draw also would advance Costa Rica to the semifinals.

The top two teams in each of the two pools will advance to the tournament semifinals - and qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Egypt 2009.

-TG