Jacksonville Armada FC U-23 Dominate Florida Roots FC In 4-1 Win

This past Wednesday the Jacksonville Armada FC U-23 made the trek to Panama City Beach to battle instate rivals Florida Roots FC. This was the third all time meeting between the two clubs, and the Armada’s third match of the 2022 NPSL season.

As soon as the center referee blew the first whistle, Jacksonville was on the attack trying to break through the Roots defense.

It did not take long for the Armada to secure their first goal because in the 14th minute debutant, Linus Dahl, would tap in a loose ball on the edge of the area to give Jacksonville a 1-0 lead.

The Florida Roots did not let the Armada’s early chance get to them, and continued to look for an equalizer.

In the dying embers of the first half Florida Roots found themselves through on goal, and would convert their chance to make the game even at 1-1.

The first half of the match would conclude at 1-1 with both teams picking up a yellow card along the way.

After the break, the Armada U-23’s attack continued to apply pressure on the Roots’ back line, hitting the crossbar just after the second half began.

In the 55th minute, Cao Chaves chested the ball down to Eduardo Coimbra who proceeded to smash the ball into the corner of the goal to put Jacksonville ahead 2-1.

Just two minutes later in the 57th minute Marc Birkelund passed a ball across the top of the box to Eduardo Coimbra who would curl a shot into the upper left corner of the net, giving the Armada a 3-1 lead and a much needed insurance goal. 

This would be Eduardo Coimbra’s fourth goal in three games for the Jacksonville Armada FC U-23.

Coach Tommy Krizanovic made several substitutions in the second half to ensure the Armada would continue to dominate possession and the pace of play.

Four minutes after being brought on as a substitute in the 75th minute, Niklas Schaffner would find himself with the ball at his feet in front of the net from a spilled save and score his first goal of the season.

After the 90 minutes were up the referee called for full time, and the Jacksonville Armada FC U-23 would defeat Florida Roots FC 4-1.

Head Coach Tommy Krizanovic had nothing but high praises for his team and their display saying, “I am happy with todays performance. We prepared the group as well as we could early in the season and executed in areas we wanted to tonight. It’s still very early in the season but we are slowly getting back to last years rhythm. We are also very happy for the players that made their debut for the Armada tonight and had an immediate impact on the game. Proud of the group tonight and excited to see their growth over the next few months.”

The Armada U-23 next home match of the NPSL season will take place this Saturday, May 21st at Jangro Stadium when they face off against Pensacola FC.