By Canadian Press

Montreal Impact beat York9, advanced to semifinal of Canadian Championship

Jul 24, 2019 | 8:41 PM

MONTREAL — The Montreal Impact advanced to the semifinal of the Canadian Championship with a 1-0 victory over lower-ranked York9 FC in the second leg of the quarterfinal on Wednesday.

Montreal won the series 3-2 on aggregate after the teams played to a 2-2 draw in the opening leg two weeks ago.

Ignacio Piatti, in his long-awaited return from injury, scored for the Impact from the penalty spot to snap a five-game winless run for the Major League Soccer club. James Pantemis made one save for the clean sheet.

Goalkeeper Nathan Ingham made six saves for York9 of the Canadian Premier League.

The Impact will play either the Vancouver Whitecaps or Cavalry FC in the semifinal. Cavalry held Vancouver 0-0 in the opening leg. The teams faced each other in the second leg later on Wednesday.

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Piatti scored the game’s only goal from the penalty spot in the 55th minute, calmly firing into the bottom corner while Ingham dove the wrong way. Piatti earned the penalty himself when his cross into the box hit Diyaeddine Abzi’s arm.

The 14,723 in attendance at Saputo Stadium serenaded Piatti after his goal and gave him a standing ovation when he came off the pitch in the 65th minute. The Argentine was back in the lineup after missing Montreal’s last nine games with a knee injury.

The Impact took no chances against the lower-division club. Knowing a loss at home would be cause for embarrassment, coach Remi Garde played several of his regular MLS starters like Bacary Sagna, Maxi Urruti and Saphir Taider.

Montreal threw everything it could at Ingham. The shots on target were 7-1 for the home team.

Before Piatti broke the deadlock, Ingham kept his side in the match with several big saves. The 26-year-old made a diving stop to keep Urruti’s volley out of the top corner in the 31st minute. Eight minutes later, Ingham denied Taider from a free kick.

In the 50th minute, Ingham made a commanding save on Clement Bahiya from six yards out before stopping Taider again on a fast break in the 53rd.

It could have been ugly for the Impact, who nearly conceded eight minutes into the game. York forward Ryan Telfer made a run past Impact defenders, skipped around a charging Pantemis outside the penalty area before narrowly missing a wide open net.

Notes: The two Canadian Championship semifinals will be played Aug. 7 and 14. … The winner of the Canadian Championship will hoist the Voyageurs Cup and clinch a berth in next year’s CONCACAF Champions League.

Kelsey Patterson, The Canadian Press