2nd leg: Montreal vs Real Esteli [R]

[Mackenzie]

Next is group stages with Atlante (Mexico), Olimpia (Hondurus) and Joe Public (T & T). Glad to see a Canadian team progress - 6 more games to watch too.

Edit: apologies on the title, modified.

[MastaK]

Here is the schedule

Group C
Atlante FC (MEX)
CD Olímpia (HON)
Joe Public FC (TRI)
Montreal Impact (CAN)

Home Team Listed First (All times Eastern)
17 Sept Montreal – Joe Public FC (TBD)
18 Sept Atlante – CD Olímpia (10p)

24 Sept Joe Public FC – CD Olímpia (8p)
24 Sept Montreal – Atlante (TBD)

30 Sept Atlante – Joe Public FC (8p)
02 Oct CD Olímpia – Montreal (10p)

08 Oct Joe Public FC – Montreal (8p)
08 Oct CD Olímpia – Atlante (10p)

21 Oct Montreal – CD Olímpia (TBD)
21 Oct Joe Public FC – Atlante (8p)

28 Oct CD Olímpia – Joe Public FC (8p)
28 Oct Atlante – Montreal (10p)

[hamiltonfan]

was just watching the game on cbc now and logged on to check all the stats for the first leg of the series. next time do not make a thread with the result. put an [R]. guess more time to study...

[canadianfoot]

Group C
Atlante FC (MEX) http://www.club-atlante.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CF_Atlante
CD Olímpia (HON) http://www.clubolimpia.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_Deportivo_Olimpia
Joe Public FC (TRI) http://www.joepubliconline.com/cms/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Public_F.C.
Montreal Impact (CAN) http://www.montrealimpact.com/flash.aspx http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Impact

[Free kick]

The surprise has to be that the tie was so close given how poor the opposition was. I think that deVos said it best, they gave these guys too much respect.

[Keegan]

Impact are pretty damn good defensively as we saw in the Vs Cup and now the early stages of the CCL.
I can see them grabbing the 2nd spot in that group. Lightning won't strike twice for Joe Public.

[Vic]

^ Impact defense was very organized and strong, but that said Esteli almost cracked them numerous times. Both goalkeepers put in a good 90. And who the Hell was that guy on Estelli who kept running the field and beating 3 or 4 people each time with his speed? Man he was fast.

Jack Warner owns Joe Public.

[Cheeta]

quote:Originally posted by Free kick

The surprise has to be that the tie was so close given how poor the opposition was. I think that deVos said it best, they gave these guys too much respect.


Absolutely. But give these guys a break. This is like what? Their 8th match in 4 weeks and no relief in sight? They have SIX more fixtures coming up in the next 3 weeks. SIX!.

Top flight clubs in Europe with squads twice the size of the Impact cry and shake during nightmare schedules like that and they don't put up with a quarter of the travel the Impact have had to. I'm sure fatigue was a factor.

That and the crazy 2nd half ref'ing. Whoah.

[Winnipeg Fury]

An enjoyable game to watch. Montreal progressing to the group stage will help Canada's cause for a second team to be awarded to the Champions League.

Grande is pure class, very smart player. Best player on the pitch.

[redhat]

quote:Originally posted by Winnipeg Fury


Grande is pure class, very smart player. Best player on the pitch.


I agree, Grande was everywhere -- free kicks, covering for the defense,
winning balls in midfield. I thought they gave Esteli too much
respect, and instead of burying them they almost opened up to a
fluke shot that hit the crossbar.

The refereeing was dubious in the 2nd half. What was the deal with
giving a free kick INSIDE the box, six feet from goal?? A make-up
for the missed penalty call?

[youllneverwalkalone]

Is it normal that I have to pay for CBC Bold?

[Ed]

^ That's how it is with Shaw cable in Calgary. I've got it as part of my '7-pack' deal on digital TV. Works out to $2 a month or so.

[Ed]

Grande was quite good in the 2nd half, not so much in the 1st. I thought Montreal took a bit of a gamble as they were holding back somewhat. Still, good enough performance, good use of subs and they got the result they needed.

[RJB]

quote:Originally posted by Winnipeg Fury



An enjoyable game to watch. Montreal progressing to the group stage will help Canada's cause for a second team to be awarded to the Champions League.



It would surely be awesome to have a second team in the competition, however I owuld have a tough time giving an extra spot in the Champions League to a nation that does not have a domestic league.

[Massive Attack]

Adding a 2nd team may not make sense with only 3 teams competing, but I think if Montreal plays well we should be lobbying for a direct spot in the Group Stage.

[Free kick]

quote:Originally posted by Winnipeg Fury




Grande is pure class, very smart player. Best player on the pitch.





I haven't found too much to complain about Dale Mitchell's callups. But if pressed to come up with one, I would say that its Grande's exclusion. IMO he was the revelation of our last WCQ campaign.

Its one of the mysteries of soccer to me that he cannot garner greater interest in Europe. We have seen a few Canadians playing in Europe at some of the highest levels who cant make the plays that we have seen from Grande.

1) Very good ball distributor

2) Good ball striker

3) Can tackle well and possessing a mean and dirty streak. player that opponents and opposing fans will easily hate.

Would have been a very good replacement for Edu. Would take him over Harmse in heartbeat. Honnestly now, what can harmse bring that Grande cannot?

[Daniel]

quote:Originally posted by Free kick
I haven't found too much to complain about Dale Mitchell's callups. But if pressed to come up with one, I would say that its Grande's exclusion. IMO he was the revelation of our last WCQ campaign.

Its one of the mysteries of soccer to me that he cannot garner greater interest in Europe. We have seen a few Canadians playing in Europe at some of the highest levels who cant make the plays that we have seen from Grande.

1) Very good ball distributor

2) Good ball striker

3) Can tackle well and possessing a mean and dirty streak. player that opponents and opposing fans will easily hate.

Would have been a very good replacement for Edu. Would take him over Harmse in heartbeat. Honnestly now, what can harmse bring that Grande cannot?


Before his return to the Impact, Grande had not played a pro game in 18 months!

[Richard]

quote:Originally posted by youllneverwalkalone

Is it normal that I have to pay for CBC Bold?
Yeah, I have to pay extra to Shaw for CBC Bold in Vancouver too even though I already pay for an extensive digital bundle. Ticks me off that I have to pay three times for a CBC channel, first as a taxpayer, second as a basic Shaw subscriber then third as an extra pay channel. Plus CBC Bold primarily exists to re-run old CBC programs!

[hamiltonfan]

So how does Montreal stack up againsnt the rest in their group?? I dont no to much about any of the teams but Atlante FC(and still not much about them). I would imagine a 2nd place finish for the Impact.

[Mpenza]

quote:Originally posted by Free kick
Honnestly now, what can harmse bring that Grande cannot?


Comic relief. :D

[masster]

quote:Originally posted by hamiltonfan

So how does Montreal stack up againsnt the rest in their group?? I dont no to much about any of the teams but Atlante FC(and still not much about them). I would imagine a 2nd place finish for the Impact.


I'm not so sure about that. We are talking about top teams in each of their respective leagues. I could see Montreal finish anywhere from 2nd to 4th and I don't think it would be too much of a surprise. I think the big difference between these teams will be home field. Montreal won't have the advantage that a lot of the other teams have. The soccer moms won't really be a positive factor.

I think this is one of the things that makes the innaugural Champions League so interesting. We don't know how these leagues match up and it will be a lot of fun to watch and find out.

[Ed]

I would be surprised if Montreal did NOT finish as the last team in the group. I would have picked Joe Public for that spot prior to them destroying NE. But, that's why they play the games.

[Gian-Luca]

I thought Brillant was much better this game than in the first leg. He's sure got some speed. Can anyone tell me what's up with Braz, Gervais, Placentino & Matondo? Didn't see any of them in either leg. Are they injured, out of favour, benched in favour mediocre foreigners, all of the above?

[Free kick]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

I thought Brillant was much better this game than in the first leg. He's sure got some speed. Can anyone tell me what's up with Braz, Gervais, Placentino & Matondo? Didn't see any of them in either leg. Are they injured, out of favour, benched in favour mediocre foreigners, all of the above?


I'm pretty sure that Gervais is injured

[Daniel]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

I thought Brillant was much better this game than in the first leg. He's sure got some speed. Can anyone tell me what's up with Braz, Gervais, Placentino & Matondo? Didn't see any of them in either leg. Are they injured, out of favour, benched in favour mediocre foreigners, all of the above?


All injured except Matondo, left behind.

[Winnipeg Fury]

quote:Originally posted by Ed

I would be surprised if Montreal did NOT finish as the last team in the group. I would have picked Joe Public for that spot prior to them destroying NE. But, that's why they play the games.



I will go with a third place finish.

[VPjr]

Last nights game was the opposite of entertaining but I am very pleased to see the Impact go through. congrats Impact fans.

The difference between 2nd and 4th in this group will be Montreal's ability to score. They clearly weren't exerting themselves to find goals last night but they need to show that they can do better than scoring 1 goal in 2 games against a pretty poor/mediocre club.

I look forward to seeing how the Impact do.

[TFC07]

Congrats Impact! (Wow, that was painful to say)

[Cheeta]

quote:Originally posted by Mpenza


quote:Originally posted by Free kick
Honnestly now, what can harmse bring that Grande cannot?


Comic relief. :D


Pace & bite?

[Grizzly]

quote:

[quote]Originally posted by Free kick
Honnestly now, what can harmse bring that Grande cannot?


Red cards?

[DoyleG]

quote:Originally posted by Free kick

The surprise has to be that the tie was so close given how poor the opposition was. I think that deVos said it best, they gave these guys too much respect.


Of course, TFC lost because they showed no respect to the Caps or the Impact.

[CanadaTFC]

quote:Originally posted by Vic

^ Impact defense was very organized and strong, but that said Esteli almost cracked them numerous times. Both goalkeepers put in a good 90. And who the Hell was that guy on Estelli who kept running the field and beating 3 or 4 people each time with his speed? Man he was fast.

Jack Warner owns Joe Public.


I think that was Samuel Wilson.

[sstackho]

quote:Originally posted by redhat
The refereeing was dubious in the 2nd half. What was the deal with
giving a free kick INSIDE the box, six feet from goal?? A make-up
for the missed penalty call?


I'm a few days late, but the indirect free kick was for the back pass to the keeper. Just don't ask Nigel or Jason for any help on that call! [:o)]

[BearcatSA]

quote:Originally posted by Daniel


quote:Originally posted by Free kick
I haven't found too much to complain about Dale Mitchell's callups. But if pressed to come up with one, I would say that its Grande's exclusion. IMO he was the revelation of our last WCQ campaign.

Its one of the mysteries of soccer to me that he cannot garner greater interest in Europe. We have seen a few Canadians playing in Europe at some of the highest levels who cant make the plays that we have seen from Grande.

1) Very good ball distributor

2) Good ball striker

3) Can tackle well and possessing a mean and dirty streak. player that opponents and opposing fans will easily hate.

Would have been a very good replacement for Edu. Would take him over Harmse in heartbeat. Honnestly now, what can harmse bring that Grande cannot?


Before his return to the Impact, Grande had not played a pro game in 18 months!


What Daniel said is the massive reason why he hasn't been called up. But if he continues with the good form he would be warranting some consideration, especially with his distribution savvy in front of the back four. I didn't see this recent match but I guess a question mark for me revolves around his pace for the defensive side of the game at the international level.

IMO Harmse is nowhere near the MNT callup picture unless there is a sudden massive absentee list. However, provided Imhof is healthy, would you have Grande above him on the depth chart? I wouldn't.