Shorthanded Armada Nearly Pulls Off Win, Settles For 1-1 Draw With Indy

Mike McCall, ArmadaFC.com | Oct. 3, 2015

Final Stats

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — “We had it controlled.”

That’s how Armada FC center back Matt Bahner described the first 60 minutes of his club’s Saturday night clash with Indy Eleven, and it’s telling that his coach and goalkeeper chose the same word — control — for their assessments.

But after seeming destined for a ho-hum home victory, one out-of-control moment left the team in a tailspin.

Defender Mechack Jérôme’s 63^rd-minute red card touched off a squeamish, 10-man finish that eventually led to an equalizer for the Eleven, and the match finished in a disappointing 1-1 draw in front of 6,734 at Community First Park.

“Anytime you have a 1-0 lead and control of the game, that’s where you want to be,” Bahner said. “So obviously this is one that maybe feels like a loss.”

That feeling was clearly shared throughout the stands, as a chorus of boos met the referee’s final whistle. But chalking this up as a total failure would be a mistake.

For one, Eric Dade’s second game as interim head coach brought continuity, stability and success.

He stuck with the lineup that delivered a win in his debut, the first time the Armada have fielded the same XI in back-to-back games since June 7. The more compact, defensive approach worked, as the Armada dominated possession early and eventually broke through around the half-hour mark.

Minutes after his pass to Alhassane Keita nearly led to a goal, Armada winger Pascal Millien found himself one on one with Indy defender Cory Miller along the left edge of the 18-yard box. From a standstill, Millien feinted left to buy space, then lifted in a perfectly placed right-footed cross that Jaime Castrillón ran onto and nodded into the back of the net.

It was Castrillón’s third goal of the year, and the first time all season that an Armada player (Millien) notched an assist in back-to-back matches.

Miguel Gallardo made two saves of short-range shots from Indy striker Wojciech Wojcik before the half, and besides Akeil Barrett subbing on for Alhassane Keita (hamstring strain) at forward, the second half got off to a quiet first 10 minutes.

But just as it seemed the Armada could calmly close out another home victory, the pace turned frantic.

After a series of end-to-end action, Jérôme and Wojcik were jockeying for position in anticipation of a long ball upfield. There was pushing back and forth, but the Armada’s newest signing landed the final two shots and paid the price.

His shove left Wojcik on the ground, and after being whistled for a foul, he kicked out in frustration at both the ball and the Indy striker to earn a straight red.

That spoiled what had been another strong outing from the Haitian defender, who will be suspended a minimum of one game.

And it also meant the end of that “controlled” stage of the match.

“We’ve all been there,” goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo said. “We’ve all been heated in a game and we’re all very competitive, and sometimes our emotions get the best of us. He’s not the first one that has happened to and he probably won’t be the last, so we just have to deal with the consequences.”

The Armada did their best. Substitute Nurdin Hrustic provided solid defending, and Gallardo made a slew of clutch saves — including one on a free kick from Dylan Mares that earned an ovation.

But in the 83^rd, a sharp combination of passes led substitute striker Brian Brown through on goal, and he coolly buried a volley to equalize.

To the Armada’s credit, they went all out in search of a game-winner despite being short-handed.

Seconds after Brown’s goal, Barrett broke through and snuck a left-footed shot inside the right post, but the goal was waived off for a handball that Dade said “didn’t look like a handball on our end.”

Then, in the 90^th minute, Jemal Johnson’s sliding shot was denied by a block, and in stoppage time, Lucas Scaglia’s long-range, curling volley forced a diving save from Keith Cardona to preserve the draw.

“We weren’t going to just bunker and ride out the point,” Dade said. “We tried to push forward a little bit but obviously smart. We did, and we got in some good scoring positions but unfortunately they didn’t happen.”

All in all, a draw isn’t the worst result after playing a man down for 30 minutes, and the point did preserve the Armada’s unbeaten home record in the Fall Season (4W-3D-0L).

The trick now is to replicate that success on the road, and they’ll go hunting for their first away win next Saturday, when they travel to take on the Carolina RailHawks at 7:30 p.m.

NASL Fall Season
Armada FC 1, Eleven 1
Saturday, Oct 3, 2015
Community First Park – Jacksonville, Fla.

Attendance: 6,734

Scoring Summary:
JAX – Jaime Castrillon (Pascal Millien), 29’
IND – Brian Brown (Wojciech Wojcik), 83’

Discipline Summary:
JAX – Lucas Scaglia (caution), 33'
JAX – Mechack Jerome (ejection), 63’
JAX – Jemal Johnson (caution), 88’

Armada FC Lineup (4-2-3-1): Miguel Gallardo (GK), Lucas Trejo, Matt Bahner, Mechack Jerome, Shawn Nicklaw, Lucas Scaglia, Nicolas Perea, Jaime Castrillon, Jemal Johnson, Pascal Millien (Nurdin Hrustic, 65’), Alhassane Keita (Akeil Barrett, 45’)

Unused Armada FC Subs: David Sierra (GK), Marcos Flores, Tommy Krizanovic, Fabricio Ortiz, Bochy Hoyos

Eleven Lineup (4-4-2): Keith Cardona (GK), Kyle Hyland, Greg Janicki (Brian Brown, 76’), Cory Miller, Marco Franco, Victor Pineda, Marco Franco, Daniel Keller (Dylan Mares, 64’), Dragan Stojkov (Duke Lacroix, 67’), Wojciech Wojcik, Dane Richards

Unused Eleven Subs: Jon Dawson (GK), Erick Norales, Sergio Pena, Zach Steinberger