Second Half Scorpions Goal Hands Armada 1-0 Loss

Armada FC Public Relations | Aug. 22, 2015

SAN ANTONIO – In a night where the Jacksonville Armada FC had a strong grip on momentum for most of the match, it took just one counterattack to give the San Antonio Scorpions a 1-0 win at Toyota Field.

Jacksonville (3W-1D-5L Fall Season, 6-4-9 Combined) finished with a 55-45 percent possession advantage and outshot the Scorpions 9-5. But statistics aside, the Armada passed the eye test, putting San Antonio goalkeeper Daniel Fernandes under heavy pressure all night, but Fernandes came up big and stopped everything Jacksonville fired his way.

After a scoreless first half, one sudden flip of momentum in the 63^rd minute gave the Scorpions all they needed to come out on top. San Antonio midfielder Tyler Gibson took away a ball at midfield and passed it to a streaking Billy Forbes, who was able to fly by Armada defenders and get an angle on Armada goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo before bouncing a shot into the goal.

Jacksonville continued to battle the rest of the match, but San Antonio went into ultra-defensive mode and clogged most of the Armadas’ passing lanes. Forward Akeil Barrett blasted one last clean shot in the 78^th minute, but Fernandes was in his way again for the save.

The Armada firmly controlled the pace and possession while also having a few near goals. Just six seconds into the contest, forward Pascal Millien fired a shot on goal from 25-yards out, but Fernandes was on guard and pulled down the save.

In the seventh minute, forward Jemal Johnson took it deep into San Antonio’s defensive third and almost bounced a shot from the end line to the far corner of the goal, but it just missed. Johnson had another chance in the 28^th minute just outside of the box when his free kick bounced off the Scorpions’ wall and right back to him for another shot opportunity that was stopped by Fernandes.

Barrett had perhaps Jacksonville’s best scoring chance in the 53^rd minute when the front of San Antonio’s goal got congested and he took a shot from point blank range, but Fernandes made a diving save.

San Antonio improved its record to 2-2-4 in the Fall Season standings and 5-5-8 in the Combined standings.

Although the Armada had their overall two-match winning streak broken, they will take a four-match home unbeaten with them back to Jacksonville at 7:30 p.m. ET next Saturday at Community First Park in a rematch against the Scorpions. Tickets, starting at $12, can be purchased by calling 1.844.2.Armada or visiting armadafc.com.

NASL Fall Season
Scorpions 1, Armada FC 0
Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015
Toyota Field – San Antonio, Texas

Attendance: 7,569

Scoring Summary:
SAS – Billy Forbes (Tyler Gibson), 64’

Discipline Summary:
JAX – Ortiz (caution), 5’
JAX – Castrillon (caution), 49’
JAX – Millien (caution), 86’
SAS – Palacios (caution), 87’

Armada FC Lineup (4-3-3): Miguel Gallardo (GK), Joseph Toby, Nicolas Perea, Fabricio Ortiz, Shawn Nicklaw, Lucas Scaglia, Akeil Barrett, Jaime Castrillon (Tyler Williams, 79’), Jemal Johnson, Tommy Krizanovic (Derek Gebhard, 71’), Pascal Millien

Armada FC Bench: Sebastian Evers (GK), Derek Gebhard, Nurdin Hrustic, Lucas Rodriguez, Ramak Safi, Ethan Sonis, Tyler Williams

Scorpions Lineup (4-5-1): Daniel Fernandes (GK), Stephen DeRoux, Zourab Tsiskaridze, Brad Rusin, Nana Attakora, Milton Palacios, Marvin Chavez (Guiseppe Gentile, 71’), Rafael Castillo, Tyler Gibson, Cesar Elizondo (Billy Forbes, 64’), Omar Cummings (Eric Hassli, 83’)

Scorpions Bench: Daryl Sattler (GK), Eric Hassli, Billy Forbes, Guiseppe Gentile, Adrian Cann, Khari Stephenson, Josue Soto