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NASL Minnesota United FC

Debutants Shine in Loons 3-1 Win

July 23, 2016 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
Minnesota United FC News Release


BLAINE, Minn.-- It was a night of firsts at the NSC Stadium as several new faces made their first appearances for Minnesota United. They new players were key for the Loons, as they rolled to a 3-1 victory over the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. The win is the second-straight for Minnesota and its fourth in a row at home.

The storm clouds loomed before the match, and a water-logged pitch weighed heavy on the player's minds as they prepared to brave the elements. However, the rain cleared up a few hours before kickoff, making for a beautiful night of soccer at NSC Stadium.

"It was a good win against a very good side," said United Head Coach Carl Craig. "I'm over the moon for [Jome] to get his home debut in a competitive game and get a goal. They got a man sent off, but we played smart football. The second half started off sluggish and complacent. We've seen that happen before where we get a couple of early goals and then take the foot off, and we can't afford to do that."

Minnesota came out with a different look against Fort Lauderdale. Coach Craig gave Steward Ceus his first start in goal and shifted Damion Lowe over to outside back to fill in for an injured Kevin Venegas.

The match got physical early on as players from both teams were throwing their weight around. Damion Lowe was the first to go into the referee's book in the 12th minute as he got into a shoving match with the Striker's Paulo Junior, ending with the Brazilian on the pitch clutching his face. Lowe walked away with a caution, but the referee had his eye on the defender for the rest of the match.

Just moments later, the Loons were able to break through the physical play with a beautiful goal. Midfielder Ibson laid off a pass for J.C. Banks, and broke towards the goal and drew the Strikers' defense with him. This gave Banks enough time and space to pull the trigger on a shot destined for the bottom corner of the net. Banks was knocked down as he shot, but what he lacked in power, he made up for with deception. The Strikers defense screened Goalkeeper Diego Restrepo from seeing the ball till it was too late. He dove in desperation, but could do nothing but watch it drop into the back of his goal.

Minnesota continued to pile on the pressure, passing through defenders as if they weren't even there and not allowing the Strikers to recover from the first goal.

The pressure forced mistakes from Fort Lauderdale's back line and United capitalized on them in the 23rd minute. Ibson was once again the mastermind behind the move, as he was in the right place at the right time to intercept a pass from Fort Lauderdale defender Gabriel. Ibson used his first touch to play a quick ball upfield to Christian Ramirez while the Strikers reeled to recover and defend. Ramirez settled the ball, turned, and unleashed a left-footed blast to extend his NASL-leading scoring tally to 11 goals.

Coach Craig expressed his pleasure with Ramirez' play.

"Christian keeps getting better with every game and he's a team player. He's a tremendous footballer."

Following halftime, Fort Lauderdale began to settle in and fight back against Minnesota. The Strikers kept the Loons pinned in their own half for much of the opening minutes of the half. The visitors played with confidence, and were able to string passes together for the first time in the game. They linked up 18 times to open a lane for Paulo Junior to ping a shot off the upright and in to cut the United lead in half.

After a fairly quiet first half, Ceus came under fire from the Strikers forwards, who were taking shots every chance they could. The Haitian international was equal to the task, coming up huge in the 58th minute to deny Maicon Santos from point-blank range as Fort Lauderdale looked for an equalizer.

"Personally I feel every save is as big as the last, but I think in the moment it was a big momentum swing for us," said Ceus.

The crowd of 8,379 came to its feet in the 63rd minute to salute the second debut of the night. Former Minnesota Mr. Soccer winner and Brooklyn Park native Ismaila Jome made his competitive debut for the Loons, replacing goalscorer J.C. Banks. The 21-year-old made quick work of introducing himself to the soccer world, showing off impressive skill on the ball.

An elated Jome expressed his excitement about debuting in front of the home fans.

"It feels unbelievable! It's fantastic! The past three or four months I haven't really gotten any minutes until our friendlies against Leî"n and Bournemouth so it was great to get in tonight."

Jome got the crowd on its feet once again just eight minutes into his debut. Ramirez kept a United attack alive with a skillful backheel near the end line that found Danny Cruz open in front of goal. Seeing no opening and as Fort Lauderdale defenders closed in, Cruz laid the ball off to Jome on the far post. The debutant placed a low shot between the legs of the goalkeeper, bringing the Loons' total to three.

"I was thankful the shot didn't hit the post," said Jome. "Danny slid a ball to me and I was trying to keep it on target and it ended up going through the 'keeper's legs. I was like 'Danny! No! No! Pass it!' and then he did, so a big thank you to him for that."

"I've actually been trying to groom Jome into a left back," admitted Craig. "This kid can run up and down the line, he's got good technique, and he can dribble. So let's ween him into that position. I know forward is his natural position, and he looked a little out of position in the midfield tonight, but I've got nothing but praise for that young man and his play tonight. How he played against a Premier League team and again this evening shows he's got a bright future in this game."

Jome was thankful that Coach Craig gave him the nod, even if it was unexpected.

"I didn't know I was going to play today. Thankfully he trusted me today and thankfully I got a goal so hopefully I'll get more minutes in the future."

Already down on the scoreboard, the Strikers went down on players with fifteen minutes left on the clock. After getting a yellow card in the first half, Luis Felipe Fernandes took out United's Ramirez with a late tackle. The referee wasted no time going to his pocket as Fernandes tried to plead his case to the officiating crew. The plea fell on deaf ears as the midfielder took an early trip to the locker room, leaving Fort Lauderdale with 10 men.

United was able to hold the Strikers at bay for the final minutes, with Ceus having to make fairly easy saves, to earn its second-straight win.

Ceus was grateful to help the Loons to the win, and thankful for the fan support.

"I was happy to help the team out and get three points tonight. I just wanted to come in a be a vocal leader in the back. I'm just happy to get the opportunity. I don't have words for how great the support is behind us. The momentum the fans bring is like having an extra man on the field for us."

United goes on the road on Saturday, July 30th to face Rayo OKC. The Loons return home August 3rd for a midweek tilt against newcomers Puerto Rico FC. Find tickets to every United match now at mnunitedfc.com/tickets. PH -25%20MNU%20vs.%20Club%20Leon/) OTOS -25%20MNU%20vs.%20Club%20Leon/) | STATS (http://www.mnunitedfc.com/match-center/1188/mnu-vs-ftl)

*PHOTO CAPTION: Minnesota United players celebrate Ismaila Jome's goal in the second half. Lineups

Minnesota United Starting XI: GK Steward Ceus; D Justin Davis, Brent Kallman, Tiago Calvano, Damion Lowe; M Jeb Brovsky, Stefano Pinho (Ben Speas 65'), Ibson (Aaron Pitchkolan 76'), J.C. Banks (Ismaila Jome 63'), Danny Cruz; F Christian Ramirez

MNU Unused Subs: GK Sammy Ndjock; M Daniel Mendes, Jack Blake, Lance Laing

Fort Lauderdale Striker Starting XI: GK Diego Restrepo; D Gabriel, Gale Agbossoumonde, Julius James, Jorge Luis Corrales; M Jean-Marc Alexandre (Manny Gonzalez 53'), Luis Felipe Fernandes, Bryan Arguez (Jose Angulo 73'); F Geison Moura (Victor Pineda 84'), Maicon Santos, Paulo Junior

FTL Unused Subs: GK Bruno Cardoso; D Luis Zapata

Match Events

Goals 14' - Banks (Ibson) - MNU 23' - Ramirez (Ibson) - MNU 54' - Paulo Junior (Arguez) - FTL 70' - Jome (Cruz) - MNU

Discipline 12' - Lowe (YC) - MNU 43' - Fernandes (YC) - FTL 72' - Calvano (YC) - MNU 75' - Fernandes (2YC) - FTL

About Minnesota United FC Minnesota United FC plays in the 12-team North American Soccer League (NASL), which also includes the Carolina RailHawks, FC Edmonton, Rayo OKC, Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Puerto Rico FC, Tampa Bay Rowdies, Ottawa Fury FC, Indy Eleven, Jacksonville Armada, Miami FC and the New York Cosmos. Find out more about Minnesota United at MNUnitedFC.com, Facebook.com/MNUnitedFC, and on Twitter @MNUnitedFC.

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North American Soccer League Stories from July 23, 2016


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