News City Stars Lose 4-1 In Canada Against Montreal Impact
City Stars Lose 4-1 In Canada Against Montreal Impact
Tuesday July 22, 2009

Jason HotchkinThe Cleveland City Stars fell 4-1 to the Montreal Impact Wednesday night on the first game of a two game road trip. The City Stars (2-11-6) struggled to match up with the speed of the Impact. Montreal (6-8-3) scored four goals after failing to score in the previous five matches.

The City Stars had the first good look of the match in the 3rd minute off a set piece. Pato Aguilera sent a free kick into the box and Ibrahim Kante made a jumping kick at the 6-yard line but his shot fell right into the arms of Montreal keeper Srdjan Djekanovic.

Montreal created its first opportunity in the 9th minute and the Impact capitalized on the chance. Pierre-Rudolph Maynard made a run up the left sideline and turned the corner around Cleveland defender Stephen Cruickshank before sending a pass into the box from the goal line. Maynard's pass was deflected by Cleveland keeper Hunter Gilstrap and redirected into the path of Eduardo Sebrengo who knocked the lose ball into the back of the net for the 1-0 Montreal advantage.

Cleveland was quick to equalize in the 13th minute as Ryan Stewart found Pato Aguilera in stride with a great ball. Aguilera received the ball in space and dribbled into an open one-on-one with the keeper and rolled the shot past Djekanovic for the 1-1 score.

Montreal regained the advantage in the 25th minute when Leonardo Di Lorenzo threaded a perfect pass between multiple players and to the feet of Ciaran O'Brien who controlled inside the box and fired past Gilstrap for the 2-1 lead.

Cleveland had a good look in the 34th minute when Kante again pushed up from his center back position and this time drilled a shot from 25 yards out. The left footed laser flew through the hands of Djekanovic but the shot was too high and went over the net.

Hunter GilstrapMontreal looked to add to its advantage in the 37th minute when Joey Gjertsen leaked behind the City Stars defense and tried to chip the ball over the head of Gilstrap but the Cleveland keeper was up to the challenge and snagged the ball out of the air to keep the score at 2-1 heading into the half.

The Impact took control of the match in the second half. In the 59th minute Stephen deRoux made a run up the left sideline and sent a cross that sailed across the box. Sebrengo drew the attention of the Cleveland defense as he made a charging attempt at a header but the ball missed Sebrengo's head and bounced towards Gjertsen who controlled with one touch of the body and struck a powerful shot that found the back of the net for the two goal advantage at 3-1.

Just four minutes later the Impact increased the lead in the 63rd minute as O'Brien flicked the ball over the defense and into the box to the awaiting Sebrengo who controlled and spun into a shot that snuck between Gilstrap and the near post for the final 4-1 lead.

The City Stars look to regroup Saturday at 7:35 p.m. against the Rochester Rhinos. The match can be viewed live at www.usllive.com. Cleveland returns home Saturday August 1st against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Lineups:
Cleveland: GK Hunter Gilstrap, D Anthony Stovall, D Troy Roberts, D Ibrahim Kante, D Stephen Cruickshank (Anthony Peters 45'), M Leo Gibson (Steve Gillespie 62'), M Alioune Gueye, M Warren Kanu (Gordon Kljestan 45'), M Ryan Stewart, F Jason Hotchkin (Kolby LaCrone 86'), F Pato Aguilera (Ricardo Pierre-Louis 65')

Montreal: GK Srdjan Djekanovic, D Simon Gatti, D Stefano Pesoli, D Nevio Pizzolitto, D Stephen deRoux (Zanzan Atte-Oudeyi 73'), M David Testo,  M Leonardo Di Lorenzo (Tony Donatelli 81'), M Ciaran O'Brien, M Pierre-Rudolph Mayard (Mauro Biello 82'), F Joey Gjertsen (Rocco Placentino 66'), F Eduardo Sebrengo (Peter Byers 80')

Summary:
Cle: Pato Aguilera (Ryan Stewart) 13'
Mon: Eduardo Sebrengo (Pierre-Rudolph Mayard) 9', Ciaran O'Brien (Leonardo Di Lorenzo) 25', Joey Gjertsen (Stephen deRoux) 59', Sebrengo (O'Brien) 63'

Cautions:
Cle: Warren Kanu 22', Jason Hotchkin 27', Alioune Gueye 66'
Mon: David Testo 42', Srdjan Djekanovic 69'

Attendance: 12,213

 
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