Sanna’s goal helped Impact earn a pre-season shutout over defending champ Galaxy

The Montreal Impact of Gambia international Sanna Nyassi beat the LA Galaxy of David Beckham by a score of 3-0 in preseason action on Tuesday, at the Home Depot Center.

Midfielders Sanna Nyassi and Evan James, along with defender Zarek Valentin, scored for the Impact.

Sanna opened the scoring in the 37th minute when his shot deflected off an LA Galaxy defender and beat the goalkeeper, Josh Saunders, by catching him going the wrong way. Valentin then doubled the lead in the 51st minute with a solid strike from about 30 metres out, James took advantage of a cross from forward Miguel Montano during stoppage time to make the score 3-0 versus the defending MLS Cup champions.

Impact head coach Jesse Marsch was pleased with the intensity of his side. “As an expansion side, it’s important to handle these games the right way” he said. “I’m happy with the effort we put out today and we now need to continue playing in an intelligent way.”

Goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts earned the shutout against his former team, making a few key saves to keep his team in the game. “It brings back memories to be here in Los Angeles, but now I’m with a different team,” said the Jamaican keeper. “We’re working well and we hope to continue our progress to be well prepared for the start of the season.”

Sanna Nyassi scored the first goal of the game against the Galaxy and for him, it feels great to score. “It’s a new team and we got a lot of experience guys that has been around for a long time in the league. It’s great to score but we’re still learning to get the understanding amongst ourselves but I think we will be able to get the understanding before the season starts” Sanna said in an interview.

More Scoring Chances

Eduardo Sebrango came close to opening the score in the 25th minute, lobbing the goalie, but the referee called the play offside. Brazilian midfielder Felipe’s shot, which came from a Davy Arnaud pass, was stopped by Josh Saunders.

Miguel Montano also had a good scoring chance in the 48th minute, but his shot missed the target. As for the Galaxy, LA’s best scoring chance came in the 40th minute when a David Beckham free-kick hit the crossbar. A Jack McBean opportunity was also foiled in the 73rd minute by Ricketts.

Loss to Chivas USA

Sanna Nyassi and his Impact fell to Chivas USA 1-0 in its second game of the day, a match of two 30-minute halves. Chivas scored the only goal of the game when forward Casey Townsend pounced on a Ryan Smith cross in the 2nd minute.

Forward Steven Miller came close to equalizing for the Impact but his shot was stopped by the Chivas goalkeeper Brian Rowe. Defender Nevio Pizzolito also a good scoring opportunity in the 55th minute but his header went straight into the keeper’s hands.

Sanna’s Impact, which has an overall record of 3-1-3 so far this preseason, will end its California tour on Friday against the UCLA Bruins of the National Collegiate Athletic Association [NCAA] and Ventura County Fusion of the USL [United Soccer Leagues] Premier Development League.