NASL Week 9 Recap: 4 Matches, 4 Wins

Week 9 of the NASL season featured all eight league teams in action on Saturday. The Montreal Impact kicked off the weekend with an impressive 2-0 win over Canadian upstarts FC Edmonton. At Al Lang Stadium in Tampa, the first-place Carolina RailHawks held on for a 2-1 defeat of FC Tampa Bay, while NSC Minnesota were 2-0 victors on the road in Atlanta. In a dramatic finish, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers rewarded their fans with a 3-2 win over the Puerto Rico Islanders.

Montreal Impact 2-0 FC Edmonton

Photo courtesy of the Montreal Impact/Pépé

The struggling Montreal Impact showed signs of getting their act together with their solid Saturday Saputo Stadium win over FC Edmonton.  The 7th place Montreal squad dominated most of the afternoon against 2nd place Edmonton, showing their western Canada rivals that they are the top Canadian club in the NASL.

Montreal were finally rewarded for the upbeat play they began with in the 34th minute of the match, as Mignane Diouf scored assisted by Antonio Ribeiro.  The 22-year-old Diouf, a native of Senegal, opened his NASL account in style after taking a Antonio Ribeiro pass and getting past the FC Edmonton defense.  His high shot beat Rein Baart, giving Montreal a 1-0 lead that they carried into halftime.

FC Edmonton began getting in sync in the final third of the match, and had chances to equalize, particularly in the case of Chris Kooy’s long shot that barely missed. But while pressuring to knot the score, Harry Sinkgraven’s Eddies began giving up break-away opportunities to the Impact. In the 76th minute, the shade was drawn on the Eddies’ comeback attempt as Baart came out of the goal to deny Montreal sub Pierre-Rudolph Mayard, who was bearing down on goal with no defender to stop him.  Unfortunately for Baart, he handled the ball outside the eighteen-yard box and was redcarded from the match. Lance Parker came in to deputize for Baart and was immediately beaten on the free kick awarded Montreal from Baart’s foul. The kick, from just outside the box, was well-designed by the Impact and Leonardo Di Lorenzo worked past the Edmonton wall to feed Phillipe Billy. The Frenchman was on target to double the score.

The win was only the second of the season for the Impact, but it was a big step forward for the under-achieving club. “We can say mission accomplished today,” said Impact head coach Marc Dos Santos. “We showed a lot of character and had a very good possession of the ball. We played better than in the 5-0 win in Edmonton. We could have scored more than two goals, but the important for us right now are the three points. We’ve already started our preparation for our matchup against Atlanta.”

FC Edmonton, who have accomplished so much in the first third of their debut NASL season, now appear to have found their bogey team. They have been shut out in both matches with their Quebec rivals, while allowing seven goals to the Impact.  Harry Sinkgraven’s Eddies still possess an admirable record despite Saturday’s loss with five wins, a draw and three defeats in 2011 league play.

FC Tampa Bay 1-2 Carolina RailHawks

The Carolina RailHawks continue to look invincible, earning another win while lengthening their undefeated streak to nine matches with a 2-1 victory in Tampa Bay.  The result raises first-place Carolina’s season mark to 8-1-1, while FC Tampa Bay are in 5th place with a 2-4-4 record.

Carolina’s sixth consecutive win came at the expense of a injury-riddled FC Tampa Bay side that nonetheless were able to hold off the NASL’s top scoring club for more than an hour. Rookie goalkeeper Jeff Attinella used his fingertips to deny chances from Carolina’s Allan Russell and turn away a dangerous RailHawks’ free kick, while his Carolina counterpart Brad Knighton stonewalled attempts from Tsuyoshi Yoshitake, Warren Ukah and Mike Ambersley.  FC Tampa Bay midfielder Mozzi Gyorio sent a threatening free kick towards the Carolina goal at the end of the first half, but the ball hit the crossbar.

The Al Lang Stadium crowd of over 2,600 saw their team fall behind in the 62nd minute. FC Tampa Bay’s Takuya Yamada was called for a foul in the box on Etienne Barbara, and the NASL’s leading scorer responded by converting the ensuing penalty kick for his 12th goal of the season. FC Tampa Bay Coach Ricky Hill was not pleased with the call. “I think it was extremely harsh,” said Hill. “There’s no way there was enough physical contact to bring Barbara down. It’s a very, very cheap penalty. But it is too late to do anything about it.”

Carolina lightning struck again less than two minutes later.  Following up on a deflected shot by Brad Rusin, D2 veteran Johnny Steele found Nick Zimmerman with a cross that Zimmerman ran onto and headed into the back of the net to give Carolina a 2-0 lead. Carolina coach Martin Rennie recognized the importance of the play. ” That was a key moment,” Rennie said. “The second goal gave us a cushion and they had to chase the game. Teams are vulnerable right after they allow a goal, and we were able to capitalize on that tonight. Jonny played in a good ball and it was an excellent header by Nick.”

FC Tampa Bay fought on, and a penalty kick drawn by Aaron King resulted in Mike Ambersley’s third goal of the season, but the Florida side could do no more than cut Carolina’s lead in half.  Despite having an edge in total shots over Carolina 18-12 and corner kicks 6-3, the banged up Tampa Bay side slid to the sixth and final NASL playoff berth following the defeat.

Chicago Fire loanee Kwame Watson-Siriboe, acquired earlier in the week, started on the back line for Ricky Hill’s side. Watson-Siriboe is a 6’3″ Californian who appeared in ten matches for the Fire since joining the team in 2010 following his career at UConn.

Atlanta Silverbacks 0-2 NSC Minnesota Stars

The NSC Minnesota Stars love seeing the Silverbacks.  Saturday night’s shutout win was their third victory of the 2011 season over Atlanta, and boosted the Stars back into the second place spot in the NASL standings with17 points, 8 behind first-place Carolina.

Devin Del Do was the goal-scoring hero for the Stars, providing both goals after scoring during the week against the Puerto Rico Islanders. The Cal State-Northridge alumnus broke the game open early, hustling to a Andrei Gotsmanov cross to chip past an onrushing Felipe Quintero in the game’s third minute. The 2,400 fans in attendance already sensed the hand of fate pushing back the Silverbacks. The club hasn’t scored a goal since the end of April, and were unable to get the ball past Stars’ keeper Joe Warren. Silverbacks’ Tyler Ruthven had a shot go high past the half hour mark and Warren made a nice reactive kick save of a ball rolling towards the Stars’ net. Right now the Silverbacks couldn’t buy a goal even with a check endorsed by Warren Buffett.

And so, the song remains the same for Atlanta fans. Despite periods of quality possession, the young team surrendered Del Do’s fourth goal of the season just past the hour mark.  This time Brian Kallman played provider, as his cross found Del Do’s head for a 2-0 lead.  Atlanta outshot NSC Minnesota 12-10 and edged the Northerners in corner kicks 5-3, but to no avail.

The victory wasn’t the Stars’ most impressive of the season, but a win is a win is a win, and Manny Lagos’ club snatched a needed three points in their final  2011 visit to the Peachtree state. The Stars have a deep and talented squad, and Joe Warren is providing the type of top-notch goalkeeping that make the Stars a tough club to beat.

For the winless Atlanta side, it’s time to take a tip from Dr. Gerry. Party. A team party, complete with tasty Georgia barbeque, cold beer, Mexican food, loud music and no soccer talk. Horseshoes, wiffleball and cannonballs into a pool are called for instead. Laughter and camaraderie may be the recipe that gets the Silverbacks onto the good foot. The good doctor can’t guarantee a string of victories afterward, but will promise some smiles from the coaches and players who need a break. Atlanta is a quality soccer town and the doctor knows everyone is pressing to get a win.  Relax and party.

Fort Lauderdale Strikers 3-2 Puerto Rico Islanders

Last, but certainly not least, the Strikers presented their followers with a dramatic win over the talented Islanders to finish up Week 9 of the NASL season.  The victory vaulted the Strikers to a fourth place tie in the standings with Puerto Rico, with both clubs on eleven points and each with a -1 goal differential. The Islanders have played one less league match, however.

The Lockhart Stadium matchup started out well for the Strikers. Brazilian youngster Paulinho Le Petit led the Strikers in attack, but it was veteran Abe Thompson who notched the game’s first goal. In the 11th minute the veteran goal-scorer knocked in a rebound from a Jean-Phillipe Peguero shot that Islanders’ goalkeeper Ray Burse had initially stopped. For Thompson, who made his season debut as a substitute in the Strikers’ last match after recovering from injury, it was his tenth goal since signing with the South Florida club in March, 2010.

The first half continued with Fort Lauderdale’s Matt Glaeser stopping a shot by Puerto Rico’s Josh Hansen, while Burse parried further attempts by Peguero and Le Petit.  In the 37th minute, though, Islanders’ captain Noah Delgado was redcarded for his tangle with the Strikers’ Toni Stahl, and the Strikers had a man advantage for the remainder of the match.

Playing a man down on the road after playing a match Wednesday, one might think that Puerto Rico would just wilt for an easy Strikers victory. But remember, these are the Islanders we are talking about  –  there is no quit in this club. La Tropa Naranjare-established themselves after intermission, took a deep breath and broke out for two goals in a five minute period after the hour mark. Jamaican international Nicholas Addlery put the Islanders on the scoreboard in the 63rd minute, gobbling up a rebound after a fingertip save by Glaeser. Jonathan Fana, entering the game as a substitute, worked his magic shortly thereafter, heading in a cross from David Foley, who flew down the left flank before delivering the ball to Fana.  Suddenly, what looked like a lock at Lockhart for Striker Likers transformed into a 2-1 deficit for the home side.

But Daryl Shore’s club demonstrated some intestinal fortitude, also. Colombian Yoximar Granado drew a foul in the 80th minute, and Eduardo Coudet’s resulting free kick found the head of veteran Cristian Arrieta, who knocked the ball past Burse to knot the score. And finally, in the 87th minute, Striker Likers received their reward. Heads up effort by rookie David Santamaria led to the youngster regaining the ball he’d lost in possession and dribbling ahead to find Peguero, who made his way around Burse to score the game winner for Fort Lauderdale. The excitement was palpable through the online stream of the game as the Strikers held on for their most exciting win of 2011. And it was a beautiful sight to see Peguero, a former Haitian international whose promising career was sidetracked by serious knee injury, to notch the winner.  The Strikers now have a win and a draw in their two 2011 matches against Colin Clarke’s 2011 CFU champions.

Strikers’ Coach Shore gave credit to the Lockhart Stadium crowd.  “After going into halftime up a goal, we didn’t do the things we needed to do to keep the lead. However, we showed great composure coming from behind and winning the game. The crowd was outstanding and contributed to our comeback,” he stated.

NASL News

Next up on the NASL calendar is a Wednesday clash in Atlanta between the Silverbacks and Montreal Impact.  On Friday evening, FC Edmonton will host the en fuego Carolina RailHawks at Foote Field in what should prove to be a fascinating fixture.  On Saturday the Strikers will try to build on their dramatic victory as they host NSC Minnesota. And on Sunday, a NASL doubleheader features FC Tampa Bay playing host to Atlanta while the Impact continue their road trip in a Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium tilt with the Islanders.