Sports stats



Aztex earn tough 1-0 victory over Miami

August 29, 2009 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Austin Aztex News Release


AUSTIN, TX - Austin looked shaky for the first 10 minutes Saturday against Miami.

But Austin forward Eddie Johnson, playing through a back injury, finally settled down the home side scoring an early goal that held up for a much-needed 1-0 victory.

"We played with a different attitude [tonight]," Austin's Kyle Brown said. "We settled in a bit and found the space."

Brown started the attack, slipping behind the Miami backline to whip in a cross in the 14th minute. A trailing Johnson, with Miami's Gale Agbossoumonde right on his hip, was able to get on the end of the cross and put it in the goal.

The win is Austin's first in 10 games, a streak that stretches back to July 3.

"They deserved three points on about three or four different occasions," Aztex head coach Adrian Heath said. "We've played better at times and didn't get the result. ... I'm pleased that the players have gotten some reward for the effort they've put in."

The goal came after both sides almost put in goals in their own nets. After an Austin corner resulted in a Miami mishit that almost beat keeper Kenny Schoeni to find the net, Austin's Gareth Evans was tripped up on a free kick and headed the ball toward his own net. Aztex goalkeeper Nick Noble saved the header to cover up the only glaring error by the Austin defense that eventually found its rhythm in the match.

"We spoke about basically moving the ball quicker," Heath said of the team's adjustments. "We lost our shape a little bit and kept turning the ball over too quickly."

Less than five minutes after Evans' miscue, Brown almost scored a goal that involved no mistakes, but just a little bit of bad luck. Brown slipped behind the Miami backline and a began to track down a ball over the top, but as the ball came down, Schoeni charged off his line to challenge. Brown was just able to get his foot on the ball for the shot, but the dipping ball just hit the crossbar, keeping the forward goalless on the season.

After the errors, both sides tightened up, turning the game into a battle of possession. The only other notable chance came in the 59th minute when an Austin counter attack caught Miami sleeping, allowing Brown to make his way down the field. Brown chipped in a small cross to a trailing Silva, but Schoeni came off his line and snuffed out the opportunity with a sliding tackle.

The loss is the eighth straight for Miami, who is in the middle of a battle for the final playoff spot. The low point came on Wednesday, when the Blues fell 9-0 at Carolina.

"The reality is [the loss to Carolina] is embarrassing," Miami assistant coach Victor Pastora said. "We definitely worked harder today but we're still not generating enough plays."



USL First Division Stories from August 29, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central