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North Carolina FC

RailHawks, Timbers Play to 0-0 Draw

June 11, 2009 - USL First Division (USL-1)
North Carolina FC News Release


CARY, N.C. - Entering Thursday's match with Portland, Carolina RailHawks coach Martin Rennie knew scoring chances would be at a premium, thus magnifying the importance of the few that would present themselves.

By night's end, the RailHawks tied a season low with six shots - three of which were legitimate chances - but none found their mark, and Carolina played the Timbers to a 0-0 draw before 1,473 on Field 2 at WakeMed Soccer Park.

"It's two of the best teams in the league, so it's not going to be a wide open game with lots of chances," Rennie said. "In a game with two of the top teams, three clear chances is as much as you're going to get."

With the scoreless draw, the RailHawks extended their unbeaten streak to five games (4-0-1), while Portland ran theirs to nine (5-0-4). The teams remain four points apart in the USL-1 table. Carolina (7-2-2) sits in second place at 23, while Portland (5-1-4) is third at 19.

Carolina goalkeeper Caleb Patterson made two saves to earn his fifth shutout in six starts. It was also the RailHawks' fifth straight shutout and eighth of the season. They have not conceded a goal in league play in a club record 486 minutes.

Patterson was called upon in the 21st minute to keep the match scoreless. Johan Claesson took a shot from 20 yards out that forced Patterson to go down to his left. He was able to push it wide.

The RailHawks got their only chance of the first half off a 33rd-minute free kick. Kupono Low served a ball into the box. Sallieu Bundu tracked it down, and on a bounce, he turned and ripped a half-volley that Portland goalkeeper Steve Cronin (two saves) punched away.

After a sluggish first half, the RailHawks came out on the attack to start the second, but they were dealt a blow in the 50th minute when forward John Cunliffe was sent off for a hard challenge on Portland defender Mamadou Danso.

"Going a man down, mentally, you have to think, ‘Now we have to step up another level,'" Patterson said. "We knew from that moment on we had to be strong at the back."

Carolina remained strong at the back and continued to go on the attack. The RailHawks had another chance in the 57th-minute. On a counterattack, Brian Plotkin played a ball in from the right flank. Cronin came off his line and Bundu charged the ball with a defender on his hip. But no one was able to put a touch on the ball and the match remained scoreless.

In the 71st minute, Low struck a 40-yard blast over the Timbers' four-man wall, only to see it crash off the crossbar.

"Last second it dipped down. I thought it might bounce down and high for a rebound, but you know," Low said. "I tried to get it on frame and see what would happen."

Eight minutes later, Daniel Paladini sent a free kick into the box that landed at the edge of the six-yard box. The ball hopped off the turf and appeared to catch Cronin off guard, but it skipped over the frame.

The RailHawks wrapped up the season series with Portland Thursday, losing once and tying twice in 2009. The Timbers remain the only team to have shut out the RailHawks all season.

"I was hoping we could get a goal," Rennie said. "We had the chances but we didn't take them. You're not going to get 10 chances, but if you get one, you have to take it.""

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