Philly Sports Jabronis
Report From Philadelphia Union
MONTREAL, Quebec – Philadelphia Union fell to Montreal Impact Saturday night in front of a sold out crowd of 20,801 at Stade Saputo. The Impact received a hat-trick from Didier Drogba to secure the 5-1 victory. The Union will be in action next Sunday when they host Real Salt Lake at Talen Energy Stadium. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be televised on CSN.
Montreal struck first in the 19th minute thanks to tremendous team play. The goal was set up as Ambroise Oyongo delivered a pass to Ignacio Piatti who then sent it back to Oyongo. After dribbling along the near side, Oyongo sent in a ball across the box that found the foot of Drogba who took care of the rest to give Montreal the early 1-0 lead.
Drogba’s second goal of the match came off of a fortuitous bounce. After a turnover in the Philadelphia zone, Piatti raced towards the middle of the field and delivered a missile right at Union goalkeeper Andre Blake. The shot bounced off of Blake and right towards Drogba who found the back of the net in the 42nd minute, giving Montreal the 2-0 lead.
The third and final goal for Drogba and the Impact came moments into the second half. Montreal created pressure in the Philadelphia midfield as again Piatti was able to find a crease between the two Union defenders and found Drogba who put the finishing touches on his hat trick in the 52nd minute of action.
The Union got on the board in the 72nd minute thanks to their veteran leader Chris Pontius. Philadelphia’s leading goal-scorer recorded his eighth goal of the season after sending a perfect header to the far post. Walter Restrepo earned his first career assist on the play. The comeback effort fell short however, as the Union dropped the match 5-1.
Philadelphia will look bounce back this week when they return home to take on Real Salt Lake at Talen Energy Stadium on Sunday. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be televised on CSN.
MATCH RECAP
Montreal Impact 5, Philadelphia Union 1
Stade Saputo
Montreal, Quebec
POST MATCH AUDIO
FINAL MATCH STATS
Shots: 22-8 Impact
Shots on Target: 7-4 Impact
Possession: 53 – 47 Union
Passing Accuracy: 78-78
Fouls: 16-13 Impact
Corners: 6-4 Impact
Duels won: 66-54 Union
Tackles won: 16-15 Union
SCORING SUMMARY
MTL – Didier Drogba (Ambroise Oyongo and Ignacio Piatti) 19’
MTL – Didier Drogba 42’
MTL – Didier Drogba 52’
PHI – Chris Pontius (Walter Restrepo) 72’
MTL – Ignacio Piatti (Ambroise Oyongo) 87’
MTL – Matteo Mancosu (Patrice Bernier) 90+1’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
MTL – Michael Salazar (Yellow) 26’
PHI – Tranquillo Barnetta (Yellow) 28’
MTL – Calum Mallace (Yellow) 50’
PHI – Ray Gaddis (Yellow) 76’
MTL – Patrice Bernier (Yellow) 83’
PHILADELPHIA UNION STARTING XI
Andre Blake; Ray Gaddis, Richie Marquez, Josh Yaro, Keegan Rosenberry; Brian Carroll ©, Tranquillo Barnetta; Chris Pontius, Roland Alberg (Fabian Herbers 57’), Sebastien Le Toux (Walter Restrepo 57’); C.J. Sapong (Leo Fernandes 78’)
Substitutes not used: John McCarthy, Fabinho, Ken Tribbett, Warren Creavalle
MONTREAL IMPACT STARTING XI
Evan Bush; Ambroise Oyongo, Víctor Cabrera, Hassoun Camara, Donny Toia; Calum Mallace (Marco Donadel 68’) Patrice Benier ©; Haarry Shipp, Ignacio Piatti( Lucas Ontivero 89’), Michael Salazar; Didier Drogba (Matteo Mancosu 79’)
Substitutes not used: Eric Kronberg, Amadou Dia, Kyle Bekker, Dominic Oduro
OFFICIALS
Ismail Elfath (referee), Corey Parker (assistant), Kermit Quisenberry (assistant), (Silviu Petrescu (fourth)
ATTENDANCE
20,801 (Sellout)
TEAM NOTES
- Chris Pontius recorded his team-leading eighth goal of the season.
- Pontius started his 20th match of the season, the most since 2012.
- Walter Restrepo recorded his first career assist.
- Brian Carroll started his 340th MLS match, third most in MLS history.
- Andre Blake and Keegan Rosenberry will leave the club Monday to participate in the 2016 MLS All-Star game in San Jose.
- Rosenberry has started more matches and played in more minutes than any other rookie in MLS.
