CBC-Sports

Impact face tougher test down in Mexico

March 3, 2009 07:45 PM | Posted by   Jason de Vos  

The Montreal Impact take on Santos Laguna of the Mexican Primera Division in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarter-finals on Thursday.

The Impact head down to Torreon, Mexico with a 2-0 lead in hand, and if last Wednesday's meeting between these two teams is anything to go by, the Impact could very well be on their way to the semifinals.

The big question on everyone's mind is, "Can the Impact get another result?" Given what I've seen from the Mexicans so far, I don't see why not.

Apart from a few early scares, I thought Montreal handled a very talented Santos team with relative comfort. The Impact's central defensive duo of Nevio Pizzolitto and Cedric Joqueviel was superb, and I was particularly impressed with the latter player.

Pizzolitto is someone I've always held in high regard, having played alongside him with the national team, so his solid performance was the norm rather than the exception. He never put a foot wrong down as he organized and cajoled his teammates to defend Matt Jordan's goal until the last minute.

Joqueviel, on the other hand, really caught my eye. He was faced with the unenviable task of replacing the injured Stephano Pesoli, who himself had formed a solid partnership with Pizzolitto during Montreal's run to the quarter-finals. But if Joqueviel was unsure of his ability to cope with the situation, he didn't show it for very long.

After a bit of a shaky start, getting turned and outpaced by the lively Christian Benitez, Joqueviel settled down and looked strong in the tackle and composed on the ball. His reading of the game was excellent, and if he can reproduce that sort of form on Thursday evening, it will go a long way toward earning Montreal a berth in the final four.

More Jordan heroics needed

Mark my words, Santos are no pub team. They have some extremely talented players, none more so than Benitez, the 2008 Primera Division player of the year.

Although he wasted a number of golden opportunities last Wednesday, don't expect Santos' star striker to be so generous on home soil. He is also likely to have some more help on hand when the whistle blows on Thursday evening.

You will likely see Fernando Arce and Walter Jiminez get the nod in midfield, and Daniel Luduena and Carlos Quintero will probably line up in the starting 11, rather than coming off the bench late in the game. This is a game that Santos must win comfortably, and they can't afford to take any chances against a resilient Impact back line.

The heroics of Jordan, the Montreal goalkeeper, have been well documented, and he will once again have to be at his best as he is likely to face even more shots than he did in the first leg. The back four will need to defend as a unit, and the central midfield pairing of Sandro Grande and David Testo will need to sit in front of them to offer some protection.

Up front, the duo of Eduardo Sebrango and Roberto Brown are capable of causing Santos some problems, and if Montreal can nick a goal, Santos will need to score four to advance to the semifinals. Against a Montreal defence that only conceded five goals in six group matches, that is asking a lot of Santos, despite their obvious ability.

As in any match, the first 20 minutes are crucial. If Montreal can keep things tidy and minimize any chances for the Mexicans, the home fans will get nervous. That nervousness will creep into the Santos players' minds, and once that happens Montreal will start to get chances of their own.

Is it going to be easy? Of course not. But then nothing worth winning in football comes easily. It will require a tremendous team effort from the Impact, but the prize is there for all to see.

And right now, Montreal is in the driver's seat. All they have to do is stay on course and we'll be back in the Big O for the semifinals.

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