May 29, 2004 A-League Toronto Lynx vs Montreal Impact (from Allison Andrews web site)

Day 4 at Toronto, Ontario
Montreal 2, Toronto 0

The Montreal Impact picked up two first half goals from Fred Commodore, and that was all they would need as they held on for a 2-0 victory of the Toronto Lynx, their second win over the Lynx in two nights, in a match played in front of 1,826 fans at Toronto's Centennial Park Stadium.

After being pounded 4-1 by the Impact the previous evening in Montreal, the Lynx wanted to get the early goal to set the tone of this match, an for the first 10 minutes or so, the Lynx were controlling much of the possession, and had a few good deep runs, but couldn't produce a shot on goal. In the 10th minute, the Lynx put their first shot towards goal when Joe Mattacchione had a good look from outside the top of the box, but put the shot wide right.

The Impact had not been able to put a shot on net until the 14th minute, but they made it pay off when Mauro Biello played a pass into the run of Fred Commodore, who controlled the ball inside the Lynx box, then beat Lynx goalkeeper Bryheem Hancock inside the near post from 8 yards out to put the Impact up 1-0.

Toronto had their first really good chance to score in the 28th minute, when Tyler Hughes put a free kick from 20 yards out just over the bar. Seven minutes later, the Lynx had another good opportunity when Rumba Munthali had a good chance from just outside the box, but his hard shot was blocked by his own player, John Barry Nusum, who had strayed in front of the shot. Munthali managed to put the rebound on net, but Impact goalkeeper Greg Sutton made a nice save high as he knocked the ball straight into the air. Sutton had trouble gathering the rebound but eventually was able to get control of the loose ball.

In the 40th minute, the home side had another good opportunity when a through ball had Biello in alone, but Hancock was able to just get to the ball first and snatch it off the Montreal striker's foot as he slid out for the ball.

As halftime approached, the Impact managed to double the lead when a diagonal pass into the box found Commodore with a brief opening as the defender had dropped off a bit, and Commodore softly redirected the ball over the Lynx goalkeeper's head and into the far side of the net to put the Impact up 2-0 at the half.

The Lynx tried to push forward early in the second half, looking to pull closer. A pass from near the endline by Nusum nearly found the foot of Ali Gerba, but Sutton pulled the ball right off Gerba's foot at the last minute as he dove out from goal. Two minutes later, the Impact had another good scoring opportunity when a header from Commodore to Joel Bailey was saved by Hancock who blocked the shot just as Bailey headed it towards net.

The Lynx were getting better possession as the Impact were dropping back more, protecting their lead. In the 58th minute, Gerba had a good chance in the box but couldn't control the ball on his feet and allowed Patrick Leduc the time to clear the ball out of the Impact box.

In the 71st minute, the Impact's Antonio Ribeiro had a good look from the top of the box, but his shot was blocked by Hughes inside the box. The Impact had the last good scoring opportunity in the 89th minute when Edouardo Sebrango broke in alone, but Hancock was able to block the shot with a diving save as he charged off his line. But the two first half goals had held up for a 2-0 victory for the Impact.

Greg Sutton had two saves in the winning effort, while Bryheem Hancock recorded three saves.

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