When the Carolina RailHawks (3-2-5) faced the Montreal Impact (4-3-4) a month ago, the club came home with a decisive 2-0 win.
RailHawks coach Martin Rennie said their rivals from north of the border should be stronger and more prepared, however, in today's 7 p.m. rematch at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.
"Montreal was the champion of our league last season, so they're a very good team, and we played them once already this season and won, so they'll be coming out pretty hard to avenge that loss," Rennie said Thursday. "I would expect it to be a very exciting game, since the two teams have good ball possession and move the ball well, and the two teams try very hard to play the game and take opportunities when they come."
RailHawks defender Mark Schulte said they were able to win the battle in the midfield last month, but "that's something that's not going to be as easy this time, since it's the middle point in the season, and they're starting to be really hungry for points.
"What makes the match special is that we always know Montreal is a good team and competes well, but it's just football, not a game with big rivalries, and we just love to play and love to win, so every time I come out, I look at the team as someone to beat."
And with Carolina averaging just one goal a game, Schulte added, they can't afford to allow opponents open shooting opportunities.
The RailHawks are coming off a 2-1 loss Tuesday to the Charleston (S.C.) Battery in a U.S. Open Cup match and have three 1-1 draws on their record.
"There are a lot of things we can improve on, and I expect us to play hard defensively, and letting these in these goals is just not an acceptable thing to do if you want to go deep in the playoffs," Schulte said. "We want to shut teams out, and our coach has been talking a lot about defending well and defending better as a team, so that's our team goal."
In addition to improving on their defensive end, other team members have mentioned creating more shooting opportunities for themselves and capitalizing on chances to score.
"We've been giving up goals recently so maybe that is an area that w need to address, but we also haven't really been scoring a lot of goals either," midfielder Floyd Franks said. "We're usually scoring one a game, which isn't too bad if you defend well, but if we're giving up goals as well, maybe putting in a few more and having a good balance is fine. We've had success against this team before, and we know how they play."
