After playing the night before, Atlanta coach Jason Smith was forced to look deep into his bench due to injuries incurred on the long road trip. During Saturday night’s game against Rochester, Atlanta starters Justin Moore, Tony McManus, and Scott Beute all suffered injuries, leaving them unavailable for the Montreal game. With Rodrigo Rios and Macoumba Kandji unavailable to make the trip as well, Smith knew it would be a difficult match.

(Photo Caption: Atlanta defender Brent Sancho makes a tackle on Montreal’s Roberto Brown. Photo courtesy of Montreal Impact).

Reminiscent of their previous meeting only four days ago, the Impact were the first to get on the scoreboard in the 16th minute after a hard strike from outside the box was saved by McIntosh, but cleared only just outside the box. Felix Brillant of Montreal was able to collect the ball and place a cross into the box to a waiting Roberto Brown. Brown placed a definitive strike on the ball to give Montreal the 1-0 lead.

Atlanta was given another scare prior to halftime when Joey Gjertsen was able to get a look from the top of the box. McIntosh went diving as Gjertsen sold him on a fake shot. With McIntosh on the group, Gjertsen placed a shot headed toward an open net only to see Atlanta defender Martyn Lancaster leap out of nowhere to save a sure goal with his head.

Going into halftime down 0-1, the Silverbacks still had hopes to turn the tables. Those hopes disappeared as they saw Felix Brillant score just five minutes into the second half. Weary from travel and short on players, Atlanta struggled to stay with Montreal’s newly acquired forwards Gason Gregory and Peter Byers, who both came on as substitutes in the second half. The two looked very impressive in their debut, causing havoc for the Atlanta defenders.

Yet, the Montreal man of the match was Brillant. In the 79th minute, Brillant booked his second goal of the night after a great through-ball behind the Atlanta defense from Antonio Ribeiro. Brillant finished the game with two goals and an assist.

Just when it looked like the night was over and Atlanta had nothing left in the tank, defender Matt Bobo was able to catch Montreal sleeping and headed a ball into the back of the net after a perfect cross from Blake Camp on the left flank to take the score to 3-1. The goal was Bobo’s first in the past two seasons, and the assist was Camp’s first career assist in the USL. Not willing to go down without a fight, the Silverbacks continued to push forward and threaten, but it proved to be too late in the match.

Atlanta will continue their longest road trip of the season as they push to secure a playoff spot. In their next match, the Silverbacks face the Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday, August 27th before returning to Atlanta for their final regular season home game on August 30th.

For tickets or more information, please call 1-866-GO-BACKS or visit www.atlantasilverbacks.com.

Around the League:
Charleston Battery 0, Miami FC Blues 3
Carolina RailHawks vs. Seattle Sounders – In Progress

Game Summary: (Atlanta Silverbacks vs. Montreal Impact, August 24th, 2008)

Scoring Summary:
MTL: Roberto Brown – 11’ (Felix Brillant)
MTL: Felix Brillant – 50’ (Roberto Brown)
MTL: Felix Brillant – 79’ (Antonio Ribeiro)
ATL: Matt Bobo – 90’ (Blake Camp)

Atlanta Starters: Ryan McIntosh, Josh Bolton, Martyn Lancaster, Brent Sancho, Zach Kirby, David Hayes, Greg Chevalier, Jason McLaughlin, Chris Mahaffey, Aaron Paye, Jerson Monteiro
Substitutions: Blake Camp for Greg Chevalier (64’), Matt Bobo for Jerson Monteiro (73’)
Cautions: Greg Chevalier – 60’

Montreal Starters: Matt Jordan, Cedric Joqueviel, Nevio Pizzolitto, Alex Surprenant, Simon Gatti, Davy Uwimana, Felix Brillant, Tony Donatelli, Sandro Grande, Roberto Brown, Joey Gjertsen
Substitutions: David Testo for Sandro Grande (45’), Gason Gregory for Toni Donatelli (57’), Peter Byers for Roberto Brown (62’), Antonio Ribeiro for Joey Gjertsen (71’), Sita-Taty Matondo for Felix Brillant (86’)
Cautions: Simon Gatti – 16’