Forward Madison Falls Short in Charlotte

Forward Madison FC started its two match road trip, heading south to Charlotte, North Carolina to take on Charlotte Independence. The second battle between the two clubs kicked off at 5:00 pm CDT at the historic American Legion Memorial Stadium.

The Flamingos began the first half slowly, as they struggled to get their attack going. Charlotte, on the other hand, recorded four corner kicks in the first five minutes. Phil Breno made a crucial save in the 4’ to keep the score tied. In the 9’, Tresor Mbuyu pressed the FMFC backline and managed to steal the ball from Phil Breno in the box. Mbuyu then shot the ball into a wide open goal to give the Indepence an early 1-0 lead. Forward Madison responded to Charlotte’s early goal with a quick attack, where the Flamingos logged their first shot of the match. At the 22’ mark, Charlotte’s Gabriel Obertan snuck through Madison’s defense and shot a ball right over the head of Breno and into the goal, giving his squad a 2-0 lead. The Independence continued to build on their momentum in the 28’, as a Charlotte player crossed the ball into Ilya Shevtsov who headed the ball perfectly into the left corner of the goal.

Down 0-3 in the 34’, FMFC tried to spark their offense through a quick counterattack. The attack resulted in a Justin Sukow shot getting saved by the Charlotte keeper. Forward Madison finally got a goal on the scoreboard in the 37’ thanks to a perfectly placed deep pass by Andrew Wheeler Omiunu. The pass led to Jeremiah Streng having a one-on-one with the Charlotte keeper, which Streng converted on, making the score 3-1. As the final minutes of the first half ticked off, Forward Madison managed to regain some momentum, even though they ended up entering halftime down 3-1.

The Flamingos started the second half with an early corner, while the chance ended in a foul, the early corner was a catalyst to a few chances in the opening moments of the second half. A chance came from Enriquez when he loaded up a shot from just outside the 18 that tested the Charlotte goalie early. A goal came from Charlotte in the 58’ to settle the pressure that Forward Madison was applying early. The goal came off a broken play with Ibarra picking it up and playing it to Ciss who found the back of the net. A goal from the Flamingos came in the 64’ when Leonard’s first touch of the game was a long ball assist to Rojay Smith who beat the fist defender, sent another one sliding past and then slotted the ball home for the 2nd goal of the game for Forward Madison. Charlotte added another off a corner kick that was floated into the box and finished home from the head of Talboys. The Flamingos again started to look threatening, holding more possession in the Independence half. Charlotte finished the match with a goal late in the 90th. The game ended in a final score of 6-2, with Charlotte coming out victorious at home.

“We’re going to work hard and not let it happen again,” Head Coach Matt Glaeser said. “We still feel as though we can have a successful season and will look to bounce back next match.”

Next on the schedule, the Flamingos will switch directions and head west for a July 5th matchup and first meeting with USL League One newcomers Northern Colorado Hailstorm.

——————————————————-

Major Moments: