Miami FC Battles Back to Earn Important Point against Rowdies in Coastal Cup Match

August 14, 2010 - U.S. Soccer Federation D-2 (USSF D-2)
Fort Lauderdale Strikers News Release


Miami, FL - The final match of the first annual Coastal Cup ended with a thrilling 3-3 draw in a see-saw battle that featured multiple lead changes. While Tampa Bay won the Coastal Cup with six points in four matches with the Blues this season, Miami FC remained unbeaten in August and stays within view of the playoff picture.

The Blues hit the road for a three-game stretch before returning home to take on the Montreal Impact on Sept. 11.

"We have to be pretty happy to have come back and get the point. We're never satisfied with just a point at home, but at the same time it's better than getting none," Miami FC Head Coach Daryl Shore said. "We'll build on this game and look to get some points on the road."

The Rowdies had a couple of very dangerous opportunities early on, hitting the post twice in the first twenty minutes of action. The first came when Ricardo Sanchez lifted a floater that sailed over leaping Miami FC goalkeeper Caleb Patterson and went off the post, skidding near the goal line before being knocked away.

Pascal Millien had his chance to put Tampa Bay ahead in the 17th minute when he blasted a shot from just outside the box, but his shot hit nothing but the crossbar and bounced safely away from the goal.

Then the Blues went on the attack and Paulo Jr. made a nice run on the right flank, setting himself up for a nice cross to a wide open Chuckwudi "Chucky" Chijindu inside the box. The forward, making his first start for Miami FC, headed the ball directly past Tampa Bay keeper Daryl Sattler to put the Blues ahead in the 19th minute.

The Rowdies leveled the match when Maykel Galindo delivered a shot that beat Patterson on the far post in the 33rd minute.

Late in the half, another newcomer got into the mix for Miami FC as Danilo Martins scored a goal after a pass deep in Rowdies territory bounced off a referee and ended up at his feet.

The one-goal advantage was short-lived as the Rowdies came charging and an unfortunate deflection off Gerson Mayen ended up as an own goal and tied the game at 2-2 in the 45th minute.

Heading into the second half tied, the Blues came out urgently looking to regain the lead for the second time and almost succeeded early on when Paulo Jr. made a run towards the box and delivered a back pass to Christian Gomez. The shot by Gomez was smothered by Sattler in the 48th minute.

Aaron King burned the Blues just minutes later when he beat defender Kyle Veris and tapped a shot that caught Patterson out of position, giving the Rowdies their first lead of the match.

Down by a goal, Miami FC was looking to pick up a spark and even up the score but despite a number of chances were unable to get that elusive third goal.

That was until the 82nd minute when a pass was floated up the middle to Martin Nunez. Sattler saw the developing play and came out of the net looking to break it up, but Nunez outmaneuvered him and knocked the ball into an open net with Tampa defenders raining down on him.

The game ended minutes later with a 3-3 score, leaving an interesting playoff landscape for the final month and a half of play.



U.S. Soccer Federation D-2 Stories from August 14, 2010


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