BURNABY - Eduardo Sebrango scored in the 29th minute as the Montreal Impact defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 1-0 in USSF Division-2 action Friday night at Swangard Stadium.
The Whitecaps dropped a decision to Montreal for the first time this season in the sixth and final meeting between the two clubs. Next season Vancouver will join the MLS, with Montreal set to follow the year after.
The only goal came when Adam Braz took a long shot that was deflected by the head of Sebrango about 12 yards out. Whitecaps goalkeeper Jay Nolly got his hand on it but it still ricocheted off the left post and in, giving the away team the edge.
"The boys got wide and I made a late run," said Sebrango of his fifth of the season. "It was a good cross from Braz."
The goal moved Sebrango into second place on Montreal's all-time scoring list with 100 points, something he said he wasn't aware of but appreciates.
"This year I haven't played very much but I knew I would get my chances," said Sebrango, "and now we're one game away from playoffs and I'm getting the chance to start and maybe win another championship."
The match proved to be a chippy affair. Six yellow cards were handed out in a 26-minute span, then a seventh and a red in total. Vancouver finished the game with 10 players on the pitch in front of a sellout crowd of 5,288.
"Before the game I said that Montreal and Vancouver are two teams that have a big rivalry and a lot of respect for each other," said Impact head coach Marc Dos Santos, "but today we didn't have that respect."
Gershon Koffie was ejected while Blake Wagner, Terry Dunfield and Randy Edwini-Bonsu each earned cards for Vancouver. Antonio Ribeiro, Sebrango, David Testo and Tony Donatelli received cautions for Montreal.
"Usually these games with Montreal, they have an extra edge to it. It's a Canadian derby, it's normal," said Whitecaps head coach Teitur Thordarson. "We were one goal down and were chasing a result and pushing our players forward."
Montreal has already clinched a playoff berth but these three points went a long way to earning a higher seed. The Whitecaps, leading the NASL Conference, sit in second place.
Vancouver's last regular season game will be Oct. 2 versus the Portland Timbers at Swangard Stadium while Montreal will take on the Austin Aztex on Oct. 3.
The first round of the playoffs will begin the week of Oct. 4.
With the playoffs around the corner, Dos Santos wants to see more discipline from his players than Friday night.
"That's something we need to control better, (our) emotions in difficult times," he said.
"In playoffs we could get a player sent off, get a three or four game suspension, and we don't need that. We were the better team and we should have done better controlling every emotion."
Vancouver, however, wants to step up their attack heading into the post-season.
"We've played several games now without creating so many goal chances and we definitely have to look into what we can do better," said Thordarson.
Montreal outshot Vancouver 7-6, with Matt Jordan picking up the clean sheet for Montreal.
