THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL — Montreal goalkeeper Evan Bush stopped seven shots to earn his first career shutout with the team, as the Impact battled to a 0-0 draw with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in North American Soccer League action Saturday.
In only his second regular season game with Montreal, Bush had to be at his best to stop the Impact from losing its third straight game.
He stopped a point blank shot from the Strikers’ Yoximar Granado from the corner of the 18-yard box in the 15th minute before blocking a hard shot from Abe Thompson on a breakaway in the 26th minute.
“It’s good to get the clean sheet, but we have to start finding ways to have the results we want, whether it’s scoring one or two goals,” said Bush.
While Bush was stellar the Impact finished with 13 shots and created numerous chances but were unable to beat Strikers goalkeeper Matt Glaeser.
“We can’t be satisfied with a tie at home when we had several good scoring chances,” midfielder Anthony Le Gall said. “It’s not usual to end a game like today without a goal. We did play hard throughout the game and it’s positive for the upcoming games.”
The Impact nearly opened the scoring in the 12th minute when striker Mignane Diouf escaped on the right side following a long pass from midfielder Leonard Di Lorenzo. His shot was partially blocked by Glaeser, but with the ball rolling near the goal line defender Martyn Lancaster slid in to boot it away.
Montreal missed on another great opportunity in the 60th minute when Glaeser stopped Reda Agourram. Following a Di Lorenzo cross, Le Gall knocked the ball on with a bicycle kick and Agourram threw himself into a diving header but Glaeser made the save.
The Impact nearly stole the game in the 89th minute when defender Hicham Aaboubou headed a corner from Zurab Tsiskaridze just above the crossbar.
“Today’s result is fair,” said Impact head coach Marc Dos Santos. “The game was played pieces by pieces, with good sequences from both teams. We fought and we created good opportunities. Unfortunately, we played with anxiety. We wanted to do well so hard that it influenced our decision making and our quality of play. We have to put some heart in everything we do and show passion in our stadium.”