RECAP | Armada Hold Indy Eleven to Scoreless Draw in Rescheduled Midweek Match

Mike McCall, ArmadaFC.com | Oct. 12, 2013

Final Stats

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Mark Lowry’s formula for success is pretty straightforward: “You figure out what works, and you keep doing it.”

Right now, what works is solid defending.

In a match rescheduled from Saturday due to Hurricane Matthew, the Boys in Blue held the NASL Spring champions to a scoreless draw at Community First Park, giving them three straight clean sheets for the first time in club history.

They also held the league’s second-leading scorer, Eamon Zayed, to zero shots on 17 touches, an impressive follow-up to their win at Minnesota United FC, when they didn’t allow a single shot on goal.

This one had its nervy moments — like a Miguel Gallardo save in stoppage time and huge late tackles from centerbacks Tyler Ruthven and Mechack Jérôme — but like most games since Lowry took the helm on Aug. 7, it ended on a happy note.

The Armada are unbeaten in their last five, and have taken points in eight of 10 matches under Lowry.

“These results and the way we’re getting them is the pleasing thing,” he said. “You can tie a game and you feel like you didn’t play well but somehow got away with it. And there’s games like today where you walk off the field thinking we played really well. I spoke with Tyler (Ruthven) and a couple of guys at the end and they were like, ‘In the second half, we were brilliant.’

“When the players feel like they’re performing, these results make you feel like you’re still moving in a positive direction instead of just hanging on.”

Gallardo echoed that sentiment, and he gave Lowry lots of credit for the recent success.

His 1.2 points per game are better than Tony Meola’s tenure (0.66 points per game) and the 2015 season (1.03).

“We all have a lot of respect for Mark,” Gallardo said. “He gives us confidence, gives us a game plan, and allows us to make mistakes and not be punished for it or looked down at because you made a mistake. He understands we’re all humans and we’re trying to work hard for the team. When you have a coach that gives you confidence, good things happen.”

With the defense shored up, the Boys in Blue need more to go their way on the attack.

Indy, as expected, played sound, physical defense and looked for opportunities to counter. That gave the Armada most of the ball (62 percent possession), and they turned that into 11 shots (five on goal).

The closest calls came via a Matt Bahner blast from 30 yards to force a diving save, Alhassane Keita’s deflected shot from a tight angle, and a shot on goal from Eloundou in stoppage time.

While none found the net, it was encouraging to see chances created without becoming vulnerable to the counter.

“Now we need to go up the other end and get some rewards as well,” Lowry said.

His squad will have a chance as they continue through a jam-packed finish to the Fall. Saturday brings the first-place New York Cosmos to Jacksonville, followed by a visit from Miami FC on Wednesday, then an Oct. 23 trip to FC Edmonton before the home finale against the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Oct. 30.

You can bet Lowry’s men will stick with what works, but they’ll be focused on Part 2 of his philosophy as well: “The challenge for the guys is, can we keep doing it better?”

Match Report

Starting XI:

JAX (4-2-3-1): Gallardo, Wallace, Lagerblom (Johnson 65’) Ruthven, Jerome, Bahner (Burke 74’), Maripuu, Steinberger, Eloundou, Keita, Scaglia (Gebhard 86’),

IND (4-4-2): Falvey, Busch, Ring, Palmer (Janicki 74’), Mares (Lacoix 61’), Smart, Zayed (Youla 79’), Ubiparipovic, Braun, Franco, Vukovic

Scoring Summary:
N/A

Discipline:
JAX: Eloundou (caution) 40’
IND: Falvey (caution) 67’
IND: Ubiparipovic (caution) 85’

Attendance:
1,254