NASL North Carolina FC

RailHawks Battle at Home to Earn One Point

August 1, 2015 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
North Carolina FC News Release


CARY, NC - The Carolina RailHawks (2W-2D-2L, 8pts.) tied the Tampa Bay Rowdies (1W-1D-3L, 4pts.) with a score of 1-1 on Saturday night at WakeMed Soccer Park.

"We really wanted to get a win but it was a fair result overall," said RailHawks Head Coach Colin Clarke. "We had a great response after we let up an early goal and it was a fantastic atmosphere but we need to do more than that to get three points."

The RailHawks nearly opened the scoring in the fourth minute of the match as a beautiful chip shot from Mark Anderson ricocheted off the crossbar. The Rowdies responded with chances themselves, but RailHawks defender Wes Knight made several great defensive plays in his last match before retirement. The two teams traded possession throughout and the Rowdies got on the board first with a goal from Georgi Hristov in the 29th minute.

The RailHawks scored the equalizer almost immediately after as Mark Anderson rifled a ball past Tampa Bay goalkeeper Kamil =C4'ontofalskî1/2 in the 32nd minute. In his first game back from injury, midfielder Tiyi Shipalane created the attack by finding his way in the box and Anderson finished the ball off of a deflected pass. The degree of difficulty was very high for the England native as he was forced to retrieve the ball with his back to the goal and turn around and rip the shot all in one motion.

The Rowdies almost went into the half with a 2-1 lead after a strike from Corey Hertzog. However, Akira Fitzgerald stopped the shot and the teams went into the tunnel with the score tied at 1-1.

The RailHawks played well to begin the second half as Mark Anderson and Nacho Novo both generated chances for the home side. They stayed persistent and desperately sought after their second goal despite solid defense from Tampa Bay.

The Rowdies turned their attack on and tested the RailHawks defense near the end of the match, though the home side denied all chances. In the 78th minute, Rowdies midfielder Darnell King got behind the RailHawks backline for a great look but Akira Fitzgerald charged the ball and made an incredible save to maintain the 1-1 deadlock. Neither team was able to convert for the remainder of the game as the RailHawks picked up one point.

The RailHawks will continue NASL play on Wednesday, August 12th as they travel to Florida to take on Jacksonville Armada and will stay on the road to face off against FC Edmonton on August 16th.

The RailHawks will return to WakeMed Soccer Park on Saturday, August 22nd at 7:30 pm to host the New York Cosmos.

Check out the North Carolina FC Statistics



North American Soccer League Stories from August 1, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central