NASL Week 19 Recap: Puerto Rico Islanders, FC Tampa Bay Cruising

The NASL season is sailing towards it’s conclusion but plenty of drama can be expected over the next six weeks as teams jockey for favorable playoff positions. On Sunday, the Montreal Impact rewarded their suffering fans subjected to a tough season with a 4-0 win over the recently punchless Atlanta Silverbacks, while also on Sunday, FC Edmonton got a point at home against the surging Fort Lauderdale Strikers in a 1-1 draw.  Saturday’s NASL action saw the Puerto Rico Islanders close Carolina’s lead atop the league to only six points as the Islanders downed the RailHawks 2-0, while FC Tampa Bay made a statement of their intentions by dropping the NSC Minnesota Stars 2-0.

Montreal Impact 4-0 Atlanta Silverbacks

Photo courtesy of the Montreal Impact and Pépé

The Montreal Impact picked up their fourth win of the season in convincing fashion by dispatching the Silverbacks in front of over 11,000 fans at Saputo Stadium Sunday and now are seven points out of the last NASL playoff spot.

Montreal didn’t waste time building a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. Mircea Ilcu netted in the 3rd minute of the match from a long Ryan Pore pass, with Hassoun Camara doubling the lead before ten minutes had elapsed with a bicycle kick goal.  With ten minutes still left in the half, Montreal newcomer Sinisa Ubiparipovic opened his Impact account in his third game with the team, and the reeling Silverbacks dragged into the halftime locker room down 3-0.

The second half brought no relief to Jose Manuel Abundis and his struggling Silverbacks side. Montreal’s Evan Bush earned his fourth clean sheet of the season as he blanked the Silverbacks, who suffered their fourth consecutive scoreless effort.  Mignane Diouf added insult to injury with his fourth goal of the year in the 80th minute to complete the rout.

“It was a great performance collectively and individually, and every player brought something positive to the game,” said Impact head coach and sporting director Nick De Santis. “We came on the field with the mentality of not giving anything to the opposing team. We put a lot of pressure, and we created a lot of space to build and to create several scoring opportunities. We managed the game well tonight.”

FC Edmonton 1-1 Fort Lauderdale Strikers

Over 1,800 fans in Edmonton saw their Eddies break a five-game losing streak Sunday by drawing with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers 1-1.  The negative streak caused the Eddies’ slide downwards to the final playoff spot in the NASL table, while Fort Lauderdale’s late rally keeps their unbeaten streak alive as they occupy the fourth spot in the standings.

FC Edmonton’s talented young defender Paul Hamilton put Harry Sinkgraven’s club on top just prior to the game’s half hour mark. Hamilton headed in a corner kick from Chris Lemire which bounced high at Martin Nunez, stationed alongside the post next to Strikers’ goalkeeper Matt Glaeser, and slipped in for a 1-0 lead.

The Strikers’ David Santamaria pulled his club back in the 79th minute.  Mike Palacio knocked a free kick into the box and Santamaria was able to get a high boot  on the ball for his second goal of the season, and more importantly, a nice road point for Fort Lauderdale.  The Strikers were outshot in the match 10-3, and had a fine opportunity by defender Toni Stahl denied by Eddies’ keeper Rein Baart.  FC Edmonton pressured late to find the game-winner but fell short of the three points.

“We are happy with the point,” said Fort Lauderdale head coach Daryl Shore. “We didn’t play our best soccer and the field was tough, that being said the guys battled for the result.

Saturday’s Action

FC Tampa Bay’s win over NSC Minnesota and the Puerto Rico Islanders’ blanking of the Carolina RailHawks were both played before crowds of over 3,700 at Al Lang Stadium and Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium.  It’s also important that both franchises have bounced back from adversity.

The Islanders and their fans are accustomed to lengthy CONCACAF Champions League runs, but after their surprise elimination by Isidro Metapan, Colin Clarke’s club have set their sights on providing Carolina with an argument as to which club is the NASL’s best. And FC Tampa Bay have bounced back quite well from the personal loss of Coach Ricky Hill’s mother-in-law and are pushing hard to climb the up the table. With Fort Lauderdale also playing well in the absence of midfielder Eduardo Coudet, NASL teams are demonstrating a great deal of mental toughness and making the season quite interesting as the stretch run begins.

NASL News

On Wednesday the Carolina RailHawks will try to extend their league lead against the NSC Minnesota Stars. Matches on Saturday include Montreal continuing their homestand against those same Stars, while Carolina are home again against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, and FC Tampa Bay will try to slow down the visiting Puerto Rico Islanders. The weekend concludes on Sunday with FC Edmonton looking for all three points at home against the Atlanta Silverbacks.

In their bid to overtake the RailHawks, the Islanders have recalled loanee Junior Sandoval from Atlanta to boost their attack. While with the Silverbacks, the 20-year-old Honduran featured in 14 matches and scored two goals as he gained increasing time on the pitch as the season has gone on.

Meanwhile the RailHawks are deepening their squad to keep their league lead over Puerto Rico by signing veteran D2 midfielder Tony McManus, cut loose earlier this season by FC Tampa Bay.  The Memphis native has over 230 D2 matches under his belt and, being only 30 years old, should have plenty left in the tank to help the RailHawks’ cause.

Montreal will try to squeeze their way into the playoff picture and have obtained forward Miguel Montaño, 20, on loan from the Seattle Sounders for the remainder of the 2011 season. Montaño is a native of Colombia who scored 13 goals in 19 matches for Argentine side Quilmes in 2009 before joining the Sounders for the 2010 season, playing in 12 matches in all competitions.  The young forward was a regular on the Sounders’ reserve side this season while playing in two 2011 senior matches.

“He is a fast and technical player, who can play as forward or wide out,” said the Impact interim head coach and sporting director Nick De Santis. “He has played at this highest level in North America and will bring more depth to our team. He is excited to come to Montreal. We will have the chance to see him.”