Here are a few things you should know ahead of Wednesday night when the Montreal Impact host Mexican side Pachuca in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal at Olympic Stadium.
Montreal in control
The Impact hold the advantage after the two sides battled to a 2-2 draw last week in Mexico. Montreal’s two road goals means it can advance to the semifinals with a win, or a 0-0 or 1-1 draw against Pachuca on Tuesday.
A 2-2 draw in regulation would see the game go into extra time, and then to a penalty shootout if necessary. Pachuca moves on with a win.
Dilly Duka was the hero in the first leg, scoring in the 25th and the 53rd minute to give Monreal a 2-0 lead. Pachuca began to press the Impact more and more after going down by two goals, and they scored twice in a 12-minute period midway through the second half to salvage a draw.
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“We had the ability to close out that game (the first leg) and we didn’t. It was a good result, but settling for a draw after being up by two, it was a bit tough to take,” Duka told Sportsnet.
“If you told us before the game we’d be going home with a draw and two road goals, we would have taken it. Still, it was a bit of a missed chance.”
Although Pachuca dominated proceedings in the opening match (73 per cent possession, and 17 corner kicks compared to three for the Impact), the Impact more then held their own. Because Pachuca is in the middle of its domestic campaign and Montreal is in pre-season mode, many expected the Mexicans to simply roll over their Canadian counterparts. It didn’t work out that way, though.
“That result in Mexico definitely helps the team’s overall confidence, but going into the second leg we’re not taking anything for granted. We’re going to be even more focused. We know they’re going to come here and have a little more respect for us and give us a good game. We’re ready,” Duka promised.
The crowd
As of Monday afternoon, the Impact had sold 31,00 tickets for tonight’s game at Olympic Stadium.
“This is going to be our first game of the year in Montreal and we are pleased that there will be a lot of fans in attendance,” defender Bakary Soumare told the team’s official website.
“We showed in the first game that we are an ambitious team and with a good result, our supporters got behind us and it makes us very happy.”
The Impact have a history of drawing big crowds to Olympic Stadium.
In 2009, the Impact, while playing in the second-division, drew 55,571 fans for their CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal versus Santos Laguna, a 2-0 win. In 2012, 58,542 spectators witnessed the club’s home debut in MLS, a 1-1 draw with the Chicago Fire.
Sportsnet’s Gerry Dobson, who will do the TV play-by-play commentary, spoke one-on-one with Impact captain Patrice Bernier about the huge crowd expected for Tuesday’s match:
Pachuca no easy touch
Club de Fútbol Pachuca—C.F. Pachuca for short—is one of the top team’s from the Mexican first division.
Nicknamed Los Tuzos (The Gophers), Pachuca was founded in 1901 and is one of the oldest teams in Mexico. It’s also one of the most successful Mexican clubs, winning five national championships and four CONCACAF Champions League titles and Champions’ Cups.
While Montreal is in pre-season mode as it prepares to kick off a new MLS campaign on March 7, Pachuca has been involved in its domestic season for some time now. With a 3-4-1 record, Pachuca sits 13th in the table spot and is coming off a 3-2 loss to Tijuana last Friday.
Players to watch include teenage midfielder Erick Gutiérrez, Argentine strikers Ariel Nahuelpán and Darío Cvitanich, and young wingers Jurgen Damm and Hirving Lozeno.
“They’re in season now so they have an advantage; they’ll have a rhythm that we won’t have,” Montreal midfielder Maxim Tissot told Sportsnet.
Alexander ineligible for Montreal
Aside from Argentine creator Andres Romero (injury), Montreal will also be missing midfielder Eric Alexander.
Alexander joined the Impact in January from New York as part of a blockbuster trade that saw Brazilian Felipe go to the Red Bulls. The American veteran has been training with his new team in Mexico but he is ineligible for this two-game series—he’s cup tied after already appearing for New York in the group stage of this season’s Champions League.
What’s next?
The winner of this series advances to the semifinals where it will face either D.C. United of MLS or Costa Rican side Liga Deportiva Alajuelense. Alajuelense won the first leg 5-2 in Costa Rica.
Other first-leg, quarterfinal results saw Honduran club Olimpia and Costa Rica’s Herediano battle to a 1-1 draw in Honduras, and Mexican outfit America earn a 3-0 road win over Saprissa in Costa Rica.
