Atlanta 1 - Puerto Rico 1
Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium, Puerto Rico
Friday, September 19, 2008, 8:00pm EST
Puerto Rico:(Cristian Arrieta 62')
Atlanta:(Jason McLaughlin 56')
MyMan of the Match
Filipe Quintero in goal
It was an ugly game on an ugly pitch but it proves that the heart is there for the Atlanta Silverbacks. Playing away to the 1st place team in the league on a sloppy pitch in a driving rain, Atlanta mustered up courage to pull a valuable point to keep our slim playoff hopes alive.
The point proved valuable for Puerto Rico too as it confirms them as league Champions and the winner of the Commissioners Cup for finishing first in the league. Puerto Rico stands 3pts ahead of Vancouver with one game remaing and a better head to head record which has gifted them with the title. This also gives them a bye in the playoffs to the semi-final stage where they will play the lowest seeded team in the semifinal series. Let's hope that lowest seed spot will be filled by us.
The game itself started with a slow methodical pace but this was more of a result of the poor playing conditions than tactics I presume. Although Puerto Rico had the best chances early on, Atlanta did put some pressure and possession into the match. Despite the conditions, Atlanta were not afraid of going into the the tackle and this is illustrated by 3 first half yellow cards. Atlanta looked confident on the ball and I felt were Puerto Rico's equal. This rough and messy play went into the half all square 0-0.
Throughout the game, we did have a problem getting service to our forwards. You can see where we miss the creativity of a Toure or Kandji. But the defense was bending but not breaking which kept Atlanta in the game. The shot of the match came from a Bolton throw in on minute 56. Josh put in a long throw into the penalty box which bounce once which put it at a nice height for Silverback midfielder Jason McLaughlin. McLaughlin made a slight adjustment and put in a wonderful bicycle kick past Islander goalkeeper Bill Gaudette to put Atlanta into the lead.
There was a "dare to believe" spirit in the air after that goal as we went ahead on the road. But there was also a feeling of danger as Atlanta have a habit of giving away goals soon after scoring one. It was no different today as in minute 62, Cristian Arrieta received a ball from Edwin Miranda, and got a scrappy shot past Quintero for the equalizer.
Further misery was heaped on Atlanta when Matt Bobo was forced to bring down a streaking Islander attacker which gave no choice to the referee but to show a straight red dooming Atlanta to play the a man down for the balance of the match.
The play from that point on was dominated by Puerto Rico with that man advantage. Atlanta simply held on against unbelievable pressure with Quintero making several vital saves that conserved the draw. If not for the saves from Quintero, Puerto Rico could have have really won by a large margin. Atlanta weathered the last few minutes from a flurry of Islander attacks, but by the time the extra time arrived, both teams looked satisfied with the draw. In fact the referee saw this and blew the whistle almost a minute early in extra time as Puerto Rico were simply passing the ball back and forth across the back line and Atlanta pulled back from them not wanting to give up a draw on fluke last second counter attack.
The next vital game is actally a game not involving Atlanta. The Minnesota Thunder play the Montreal Impact Saturday night Sept 20th. If Minnesota wins this match, Atlanta is out of the playoffs for 2008. If Minnesota draws or loses, a Atlanta win would allow us to back into the playoffs in that 7th and last playoff spot. A very important weekend indeed. We'll see everyone at Varner's Tavern on Sunday to watch the game together.
Go to the Westside 109 disscussion boards for pre and post game chatter