Silverbacks Seal 3rd Consecutive Victory

Published on August 6, 2015 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
Atlanta Silverbacks News Release


ATLANTA - Pedro Mendes' brace led Atlanta (5-6-6, 21 points) to a 3-game winning streak with a 2-1 win over the Fort Lauderdale Strikers (4-5-7, 17 points) on Wednesday at Atlanta Silverbacks Park, presented by Univision.

The field might as well have been cut in half for the first 10 minutes of the match as the Silverbacks dominated possession. Within that 10 minute span, Atlanta had five shots attempted. The most dangerous was a Jaime Chavez cross into the box to Pedro Mendes. Mendes was left wide open, but couldn't connect and the ball rolled to the keeper.

The Strikers' dangerous attacks came from Gabriel early on in the match. First, he he had a header that landed straight into Steward Ceus' waiting arms. Then, in the 23rd minute, he ripped a shot from outside the 18-yard-box, but Ceus was once again waiting.

Magic finally struck in the 41st minute as the attacking pair of Chavez and Mendes only continued improving. Kosuke Kimura played a ball though the defense. Chavez shielded a defender to receive it, turned up field, and sent a ball in the box for Mendes. The ball bounced off of goalkeeper Josh Ford, the found the back of the net.

Mendes almost grabbed his second of the match in the dying minutes of the second half. Junior Burgos snatched up the ball after a free kick and sprinted upfield with Mendes in tow. Burgos laid it off to him, but Mendes shot went just wide of the far post.

The first few minutes of the second half was very different from the first, as the Silverbacks gave up an awkward goal to Fort Lauderdale's Walter Ramirez. Ramirez made his way down the left hand side and, almost at the end-line, turned and fired in a rapid ball. It was possibly intended as a cross, but it didn't matter as the Strikers leveled the score.

Various degrees of meaningful attacks traded back and forth between the two teams through the next 15 minutes. Atlanta once took control about 20 minutes into the second half. A series of Fort Lauderdale giveaways led to multiple shots from the Silverbacks, culminating in Mendes' second goal of the match in the 66th minute. After some fumbling inside the box, Mendes half-volleyed the ball to the far post.

Things only worsened for the Strikers. In the 84th minute, forward Stefano Pinho was given a straight red and ejected from the game after a hard tackle on Josh Hughes. Hughes, after arguing with the official, was cautioned with a yellow card too.

Unfortunately for the Strikers, that wouldn't be the only ejection they would be forced to deal with. Both defender Karsten Smith and midfielder James Marcelin were shown straight reds in the extra minutes before the end of the game. The Strikers went on to finish the game with only eight men on the field and a one goal deficit, giving Atlanta three points at home.

Atlanta, now on a 3-game winning streak, sits firmly in second place in the Fall Standings.

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North American Soccer League Stories from August 6, 2015


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