Darko Kolic tapped in his first goal of the season from close range to give the Montreal Impact a much needed victory on the road against their Northern Conference rivals, the Connecticut Wolves, on Saturday evening at Willow Brook Park in New Britain, Connecticut. The win was the first for Montreal since their recent change in ownership and the elevation of defender Nick DeSantis to head coach, and the Impact's intense, aggressive play throughout the match was testament to their desire to prove that they cannot be dismissed as a lame duck team.
The Wolves put pressure on the Montreal defense in the early going, with new signing Ray Graham barely missing high over the crossbar with his first shot of the game. It was Montreal, however, who nearly opened the scoring in the 13th minute, with Darko Kolic beating Wolves goalkeeper Adam Throop but hitting the right post from 25 yards out. Wolves defender and team captain Dean Sewell hustled back to block the rebound attempt before Throop was finally able to gather the ball.
Two minutes later, Connecticut got on the scoreboard first through midfielder Fabio Zuniga. Graham won the ball on the right side, lost it to the Montreal defense, but put in a fine effort to win it back. He then curled a cross in front of goal. Zuniga stretched to deflect the ball into the top of the net, past Montreal keeper Greg Sutton.
After the goal, Montreal came out and played a very physical style to try to shut down the Wolves midfield. Two of the Impact's more experienced players, defender Milan Kojic and midfielder Mauro Biello, received yellow cards for committing deliberate fouls to stop a developing Wolves attack. Yet Montreal also used this aggressive style to gain more territory and possession in an effort to create more scoring chances for themselves. Indeed, the Impact had two quality chances in the fifteen minutes follwing the goal. Throop had to race off his line to stop a Kolic breakaway, then Montreal midfielder Nicola Corneli fired a long blast just wide of the right post.
The Impact leveled the match at 1-1 late in the first half, in the 45th minute of ordinary playing time. Biello lunged with his right foot to get a low cross 18 yards out in front of the Wolves goal, and managed to redirect it inside the right post past Throop. Soon after, Connecticut began to show some frustration as well, as Wolves midfielder Mobi Oparaku was cautioned for a reckless scissor tackle. Zuniga nearly scored his second just before the halftime whistle, but fired a low shot into the right side netting. The score remained Wolves 1, Impact 1 at halftime.
The match remained closely contested in the second half, with both teams having opportunities to pull ahead. Wolves forward Patrick Beech proved dangerous early in the half, setting up a dangerous free kick after Montreal defender Lloyd Barker was forced to foul him 22 yards out, then firing a long shot just over the crossbar and forcing a fine save out of Sutton with another effort from 18 yards. Montreal's best opportunity in the first fifteen minutes of the second stanza fell to midfielder Patrice Bernier, who needlessly rushed his shot after Sewell fell down and missed wide to the right.
The Wolves should have recaptured the lead midway through the second half. Beech beat the offside trap and had a clear breakaway from 30 yards, with teammates in support behind him. Inexplicably, Beech chose to try to dribble around Sutton rather than passing or shooting, and Sutton managed to take the ball off of Beech's foot to thwart the scoring opportunity.
Zuniga continued his solid effort on the evening by dribbling from his own third of the field into the offensive third, beating three Montreal players. Bernier committed a foul to stop the rush, drawing a yellow card in the process. Midfielder Temoc Suarez took the free kick for the Wolves, but Sutton moved to his left to make the save.
Suarez would have two more free kick chances for the Wolves before the end of regulation. The first free kick was set up by a deliberate foul from behind by Bernier, who was very fortunate to avoid a second yellow and an early exit from the game. That chance sailed over the bar by inches, and minutes later Suarez forced Sutton to dive to his left to make a save on a second free kick. Despite numerous opportunities for both sides, the second half was scoreless and the game went to overtime 1-1.
The Wolves had two fine chances in the opening minutes of overtime, but could not convert. Wolves midfielder Winston Griffiths slotted a pass through the defense to Ray Graham, but Montreal quickly regrouped and forced Graham to make an inaccurate cross. Moments later, Graham pounced on the rebound after Sutton blocked Beech's shot from the right side, but Graham had to lunge to get to the ball, redirecting it over the crossbar in the process.
Montreal won the game six minutes into overtime, off an excellent steal and cross by Bernier. After winning the ball on the right side, Bernier slotted a pass across the goalmouth to a wide open Kolic, who easily put the ball into the goal to give Montreal a hard-fought victory. The Wolves are now winless in their last four A-League matches (0-2-2), while Montreal inches closer to being in the playoff race with the victory. For Connecticut, the next match is a crucial away game against Long Island Wednesday afternoon. With ten days between that match and their next game on August 11 against Pittsburgh, the Wolves could find themselves out of the playoffs if they continue to fail to capitalize on scoring chances and drop vital points at home.
Montreal Impact 2, Connecticut Wolves 1 (OT)
Goals: Connecticut- Fabio Zuniga (assisted by Ray Graham)- 15th minute
Montreal- Mauro Biello (assisted by Rocco Placentino)- 45th minute
Montreal- Darko Kolic (assisted by Patrice Bernier)- 96th minute
Cautions: Connecticut- Max Zieky- 23rd minute
Montreal- Milan Kojic- 30th minute
Montreal- Mauro Biello- 34th minute
Connecticut- Mobi Oparaku- 45th minute
Montreal- Lloyd Barker- 49th minute
Montreal- Patrice Bernier- 69th minute
Connecticut- John DeBrito- 86th minute
Lineups: Montreal Impact: Greg Sutton, John Limniatis, Patrick Diotte, Lloyd Barker, Milan Kojic (Patrick Ledoux 91), Mauro Biello, Nicola Corneli, Sunny Nwachukwu, Patrice Bernier, Darko Kolic, Rocco Placentino
Connecticut Wolves: Adam Throop, Jake Dancy, Adam Eyre, Max Zieky (John DeBrito 46), Dean Sewell, Mobi Oparaku, Winston Griffiths, Temoc Suarez, Fabio Zuniga, Patrick Beech, Ray Graham
