Miami FC crushes Atlanta 3-0

July 27, 2008 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Fort Lauderdale Strikers News Release


Miami, July 27, 2008 - Miami FC tangled with the Atlanta Silverbacks at Tropical Park Stadium on Sunday night and came away with a very convincing victory. Right from the get-go Miami looked like a true winner on the field. Led in the attack by forwards Alex Afonso and Sean Fraser, the Blues put pressure on the Atlanta defense early and often and the result was 3 goals and none allowed.

Following the victory head coach Zinho said, "I am of course happy with the victory but more important is the timing of the win. After a difficult loss which came after a 9-game unbeaten streak it was important to get a good result. This victory showed the team is strong."

In the 5th minute playmaking midfielder Léo Inácio got off a tremendously powerful shot which came out to him off of a corner kick. Inácio let off a missile which rattled the cross bar and sent an early message to the Silverbacks that Miami had come to play.

Then in the 6th minute a goal came from the efforts of USL-1 leading goal scorer Alex Afonso with the help of Cauê da Mata. He received the ball outside of the box and after a nice move past an Atlanta defender Afonso ripped a low shot that skidded to the bottom left of the goal. That goal put his tally up to 9 and confirmed his place on top of the league leaders.

In the first 15 minutes Afonso made his presence known by being active with the ball and moving all over the field to receive passes from his teammates.

Sean Fraser partnered well with Afonso using his speed and quick feet to set up his teammates and open up space for himself.

In the 25th minute after a little tussle for the ball between Léo Inácio and two Atlanta defenders, Inácio broke into the area and charged right at the Silverbacks keeper. He sent in a delicious pass right by the mouth of the goal but Afonso could not put his foot onto it.

His effort would not go unrewarded as he put one into the back of the net in the 28th minute after taking the ball from an Atlanta defender and coolly slid it past the goalie from 8 yards out.

After a few Atlanta possessions the half ended with the Blues up 2-0. Miami looked confident going into the locker room and had a lot to be pleased with as the whole team played together so well in the first half.

The second half started with both teams trying to exert their will upon the each other. Silverbacks forward Ansu Toure put together some nice moves and was able to get a decent shot off which required Blues goalie Josh Saunders to dive and block it away from goal.

In the 53rd minute Miami came very close to adding another goal when Alex Afonso hit the crossbar with his header.

The 3rd goal would come in the 64th minute from a great shot by Sean Fraser. The Silverbacks had the ball taken from them by Eric Vasquez and he played a beautiful ball to Sean Fraser down the field. He streaked toward goal then crossed it into the box. The ball made it through to left back Walter Ramirez. Ramirez sent it back across the face of goal to Fraser who rifled it home from a difficult angle on the right side.

The Blues' attack continued all game long but in the 80th minute a red card was shown to Atlanta Silverbacks defender David Hayes for taking down Bruno Menezes who was heading down field.

Three minutes later, Atlanta would come close to getting on the scoreboard from a shot that forced Josh Saunders to leap up in front of goal but the ball sailed just high. The shot came from about 30 yards out by Silverbacks defender Josh Bolton who unleashed a rocket towards the Miami goal.

Two minutes were added on which pleased the Miami players as they showed no mercy and kept flying down field to score again even after the 90th minute. The game ended with a very positive 3-0 result for Miami which helped them in their quest for the playoffs.

Miami's next home match at Tropical Park is on Tuesday, July 29th against the Vancouver Whitecaps. Group tickets are currently on sale by visiting or by calling 305-728-2612. Single game tickets are available through Ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-866-57-MIAMI. Watch all other USL games live on USL Live!



USL First Division Stories from July 27, 2008


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