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CONCACAF Champions League
Donatelli, Jordan lift Montreal past Joe Public 2-0
Gregory Richardson
Tony Donatelli scored one goal and help set up another to lift the Montreal Impact past Joe Public FC of Trinidad and Tobago 2-0 Wednesday night, enabling it to prevail on a slippery surface at Saputo Stadium in its CONCACAF Champions League group opener.
Defender Stefano Pesoli struck a well-placed volley past Joe Public goalkeeper Alejandro Figueroa to give Montreal the lead in the 14th minute.
Leonardo Dilorenzo sent a corner kick across the area to Dontelli, who headed a square ball across the six-yard box to Pesoli.
Montreal goalkeeper Matt Jordan was key to Montreal’s victory, denying Joe Public several times, including thwarting Gregory Richardson’s header in the 25th.
The Guyana-born striker, who scored three times in the second leg of Joe Public’s Preliminary Round upset of the New England Revolution, out jumped Impact defenders and headed a Wolry Wolfe corner kick towards the top corner of the Montreal goal, forcing Jordon to tip the ball over the cross bar.
Jordan again denied Richardson in the 28th, charging off his line to clear the ball with a slide tackle at the top of the area. Montreal consolidated its lead two minutes into the second half when Donatelli scored.
Donatelli collected a deflected ball from the feet of Joe Public defender Jason Springer, who was attempting to clear a swirling cross from Montreal’s Peter Byers. Donatelli snapped up the free ball and buried it in the roof of the net past a sprawling Figueroa.
Joe Public continued to press were denied again by Jordan in the 55th minute, when Richardson found himself at point-blank range in the penalty area but was thwarted by a spectacular left-footed save.
In the 85th minute, Joe Public second-half substitute Lyndon Andrews was denied by Jordan after Andrews found himself one-on-one with the Montreal keeper after a through ball from Richardson.
The match at Montreal’s recently christened Saputo Stadium was played in a light but steady rain and several of the Joe Public players appeared to have trouble keeping their footing on the slippery natural turf surface, which was covered in divots and skid marks by halftime.
Montreal Impact club president Joey Saputo indicated before the match that an unusually rainy summer in eastern Canada had not allowed deep roots to establish themselves and had contributed to the problems with the playing surface.
The field conditions at Saputo Stadium were also a problem during a World Cup qualifying match between Canada and Honduras on September 6.
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