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Long Island burned by Flames 2-1

July 5, 2004 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Long Island Rough Riders News Release


(Plainview, N.Y., July 5, 2004) – After the very physical game the night before, the Rough Riders could not overcome the Westchester Flames yesterday on Sunday July 4th, losing in New Rochelle's City Park Stadium 2-1.

The game started with no real opportunities for either team. In the 18th minute, Long Island goalkeeper Daniel Sirota kept the score 0-0 when he cut off the angle against Costea Decu on a breakaway and forced his shot wide of the net. Only five minutes later, Sirota took the ball off Evaud Thompson's foot to prevent another Westchester scoring opportunity.

The Flames dominated the first half of play while the Rough Riders came out flat, obviously showing the effects of a tough match the night before having won in Western Mass 3-2. A misunderstanding in the Rough Riders defense in the 36th minute resulted in a strong strike from Costea Decu that beat Sirota for the 1-0 Westchester lead.

The second half started with a good chance for Long Island's forward Moussa Sy, but his header sailed over the crossbar. At the other end, it was again Sirota who maintained the one goal difference with an excellent save on a powerful shot by Thompson in the 54th minute.

The Rough Riders looked sharper in the second half and had more ball possession. Some of this was the result of "fresh legs" as Evan Bruno (Carlo Espinosa), Shawn Higgins (Ricardo Blanchard) and Derrick Etienne (Giovanni Savarese) all came on in the second half. In the 76th minute, Paul Caffrey had his season debut at left-back.

In the 68th minute, the Flames won the ball in their half of the field and moved forward quickly on a counter-attack for Thompson to score his tenth goal of the season on a fed from Alex Toubon-Villa.

Westchester's second goal seemed to shake up the Rough Riders. Right after the kick-off, Bruno took the ball up the left sideline and sent a centering pass to Jim Rooney, who set up Sy with a nice through-ball. Sy beat the goalkeeper with a well-placed shot in the far corner to make the score 2-1. Long Island tried to increase the offensive pressure through the end of the game, but they could not score another goal.

Head Coach Ronan Wiseman was not pleased with the loss, but saw how his team struggled. "We came out flat tonight. The very physical match last night took its toll."

After a three-day break the Rough Riders will return home to Mitchel Athletic Complex on Wednesday, July 7th. The kick-off for the Rough Riders special "Camp Day" match is set for 12noon, when they will host the New Jersey Falcons. For further team and ticket information, please call the Rough Riders front office at (516)671-1585 or log on to www.liroughriders.com.

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