Strikers Score Twice Early and Play a Man Down to Defeat Minnesota 2-1 at Lockhart
Published on May 11, 2013 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
Fort Lauderdale Strikers News Release
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - The Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1-1-3, 4 points) defeated visiting Minnesota United FC (2-2-1, 8 points) by a score of 2-1 at Lockhart Stadium, Saturday night in front of 4,323 fans. Early goals from Mark Anderson and David Foley secured victory for the Strikers, who finished the game down a man following Stephane Guillaume's red card in the 58th minute.
"We fought hard and we knew they were going to come at us and they threw numbers at us but you've got to give our whole team credit," said Strikers' head coach Daryl Shore. "They dug in and this shows we're capable of doing good things." Mark Anderson opened the scoring for the hosts inside of two minutes after collecting a ball from Jemal Johnson at the top of the box before firing a shot past Daryl Sattler, off the post and into the goal.
David Foley doubled the Strikers' advantage in the 14th minute, chasing down a long ball from Manny Gonzalez and tucking his shot into the back of the net. The assist was the first as a professional for first-year Strikers' midfielder Gonzalez.
In the 16th minute of the match the game was delayed due to lightning in the area and resumed after a 64 minute stoppage. Just four minutes after play resumed, Strikers forward David Foley appeared to sustain an upper leg injury and needed to be subbed off. During first half stoppage time, the Strikers' Stephane Guillaume was issued a yellow card for retaliation after a tackle and the half ended with Fort Lauderdale ahead 2-0.
In the second half, the teams stayed on the offensive with Fort Lauderdale and Minnesota fighting for every ball. One of these challenges ended with Guillaume being tagged with his second yellow card of the match, causing him to be ejected in the 58th minute.
United FC would need just 10 minutes from that point to score their first goal, as in the 68th minute, Simone Bracalello sent in a cross from the right side that forward Pablo Campos was able to put a head on and direct a shot behind Strikers' goalkeeper Jeff Attinella.
Emboldened by their score, United FC continued to press and put numbers forward. They hammered the Strikers' defense producing 10 shots with Attinella making five saves in the second half and six on the night. Fort Lauderdale was able to hold on and earned their first victory of the season.
Fort Lauderdale take over sixth place in the league and will next play at Lockhart in the second round of the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Strikers' next matchup however, requires a trip to San Antonio to face the Scorpions for the first time at the brand new Toyota Field on Saturday, May 18, with an 8:30 p.m. eastern kick off. For all game information and times of matches, visit Strikers.com.
North American Soccer League Stories from May 11, 2013
- Strikers Score Twice Early and Play a Man Down to Defeat Minnesota 2-1 at Lockhart - Fort Lauderdale Strikers
- Minnesota United FC Falls 2-1 in Fort Lauderdale - Minnesota United FC
- RailHawks Jump to Top of NASL with 5-2 Victory - North Carolina FC
- Scorpions Lose to Carolina 5-2 - San Antonio Scorpions
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