Aztex surrender two-goal lead late, salvage 2-2 tie against Montreal Impact

Published on July 25, 2009 under USL First Division (USL-1)
Austin Aztex News Release


AUSTIN, Texas - Just when Austin looked like it had turned around its fortunes, the game slipped away.

Austin went up two goals midway through the second half but a tense 15-minute stretch filled with a mixture of mistakes and passive play allowed Montreal back into the game to steal away two points and a 2-2 draw Saturday night in front of 2,786 at Nelson Field.

"Young, naïve, silly, stupid," head coach Adrian Heath said dejectedly. "We were probably all of those adjectives in the last 15 minutes."

While back-and-forth play characterized the first half, Austin broke open the deadlock midway through the second half.

Austin's A.J. Godbolt sent in a corner kick in the 66th minute to Gifton Noel-Williams who had found position on an Impact defender. Noel-Williams sent in a header that bounced past Montreal goalkeeper Serge Djekanovic to put Austin on top 1-0.

Less than three minutes later, Noel-Williams quickly returned the favor when he flicked on a long ball as he was hit by a defender to a streaking Godbolt who had beaten his man on a run. Godbolt volleyed in the ball for the second goal.

The two goals were the reward for a 25-minute stretch of solid play from the Aztex.

"The first half, we were the best team on the field," Montreal head coach Marc Dos Santos said. "[In the second half,] they didn't allow us many opportunities. I thought [Heath] adjusted very well."

Those adjustments didn't last long enough as the Austin defense appeared to tire late in the game. Poor play by the Aztex defense resulted in a furious 15-minute closing to the game that almost resulted in the home side losing the game outright.

A Montreal cross in the 77th minute bounced off an Impact forward in the box and went directly to a wide open Rudolph Mayard, who promptly put in the goal to cut the lead in half. Less than a minute later, Mayard made a run that resulted in another goal, but the referee ruled an Impact player was offside and took the goal off the board. Two more loose balls in the box resulted in two more Montreal goals, but the referee again ruled offsides keeping the Aztex on top despite its porous defensive play.

In the 89th minute a scramble in the box led to a crowd of players around Austin keeper Sam Reynolds and the ball made its way into the net to level the score. The goal was credited to Roberto Brown, capping off an offensive barrage from Montreal that yielded two official goals and three taken away by the referee.

"We showed loads of inexperience after the two goals," Heath said.

In stoppage time, Ryan Caugherty almost erased the final minutes from memory when a Kyle Brown ball found him with space. Caugherty charged the goal and put the ball in the net, but the referee ruled he fouled Djekanovic on his run. Caugherty wound up in the net himself and a scuffle broke out between both teams. In the end, the goal didn't count, Caugherty earned a yellow card, and Austin, despite a second half that was entertaining on both sides, would walk away with only one point.

"We were afraid to go and win," Heath said. "Sometimes you sit back [to protect a lead,] but you end up bringing them closer to your goal."

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USL First Division Stories from July 25, 2009


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