Forward Madison FC Rally Back On The Road Against Central Valley Fuego FC

FMFC finish with one point after being two goals and a player down

Forward Madison FC continued their road streak, this time traveling to California on Saturday, August 26th, to face Central Valley Fuego FC for the third time this season. Forward Madison entered this match in sixth place in the USL League One standings, and Fuego entered in twelfth. The match kicked off just after 9:30pm CT.

The scoring opened quickly after the opening whistle. In the first minute, Central Valley Fuego scored off of a counter attack to put the ‘Mingos down early, 0-1. However, Forward Madison rallied back in the fourth minute. After a few creative passes, midfielder Jayden Onen took one touch and buried the shot from outside the 18-yard box to tie the match 1-1. FMFC gained momentum and continued to put pressure on Fuego’s backline. In the 12th minute, FMFC was awarded a penalty kick after striker Christian Chaney was tripped in the box. Chaney stepped up to the spot and slotted his shot in the lower left hand corner to put his squad up 2-1. Central Valley continued to put up a battle, though, and were able to break down the Forward Madison defense twice, putting the ball in the back of the net in the 28th and 45th minutes. The first half ended 3-2 with Central Valley Fuego ahead at home.

At the start of the second half, both sides looked determined to continue scoring. In the 51st minute, Central Valley Fuego was awarded a penalty kick, and striker Qudus Lawal scored to put Fuego up 4-2. FMFC defender Jake Crull was given a red card to put the ‘Mingos down a player for the remainder of the half. Despite this, Forward Madison kept their foot on the gas and continued to attack in the final third. In the 71st minute, FMFC was given a free kick just outside the 18-yard box. Substitute Pierre Da Silva stepped up to the ball and curved it into the backpost to make the score 4-3, putting Forward Madison down a goal with 20 minutes left. The goal gave FMFC new urgency, and they continued to create dangerous opportunities while being a player down. In the 81st minute, Da Silva played a long ball to Chaney, who beat his defender and chipped the Fuego goalkeeper to level the score at 4-4. After 6 minutes of extra time, the match finished 4-4.

“It’s obviously not the result we wanted, but I’m so proud of the group tonight,” said FMFC captain Mitch Osmond. “We can’t hide from the fact that we need to tidy up the performances, but this is the first step to getting back to where we need to be.”

“We’ll have to regroup, recover, and see what things we can improve on,” said Head Coach Matt Glaeser. “But I’m really proud of the way we fought back against the odds and finished with a big point on the road.”

“We’re going to fight until the end, and go until we have nothing left to give because that’s the character of the team,” said striker Christian Chaney. “It was a blessing, for me, to not only help the team tonight, but to do so in front of my family and hometown.”

Next up, Forward Madison FC plays on the road against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC on Saturday, September 2nd at 6:30pm CT. Fans can watch this match on ESPN+ or in the Forward Club for the FMFC Watch Party, presented by City Lights Beach Bum. RSVP here. The next time Forward Madison FC plays at Breese Stevens Field is Saturday, September 9th at 7pm CT against One Knoxville SC. Tickets for that match are available here.

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Forward Madison FC Lineup (FMFC):

#4 Osmond

#5 Mehl

#8 Conerty

#9 Chaney

#10 Onen

#14 Cichero

#16 Crull

#17 Gebhard

#22 Payne

#24 Bartman

#55 Schipmann

Substitutes: Sanchez, Screen, Brotherton, Da Silva, Wheeler-Omiunu, Baptiste

Head Coach: Matt Glaeser

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Central Valley Fuego FC Lineup (CVF):

#28 North

#4 Cromwell

#13 Dulysse

#15 Chavez

#17 Lemus

#8 Falck

#10 Carrera

#7 Dabo

#6 Ramos

#20 Bijev

#27 Lawal

Substitutes: Fernandez, Hanson, Cerritos, Vasquez, Ekk, Ruelas, Forbes

Head Coach: Adam Smith

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Major Match Moments:

1st Half

1’ CVF GOAL (#10)
4’ FMFC GOAL (#10 Jayden Onen)
10’ CVF foul
14’ CVF Yellow Card (#17)
15’ FMFC penalty given
16’ FMFC GOAL (#9 Chaney)
19’ FMFC Yellow Card (#17 Gebhard)
23’ FMFC foul
28’ CVF GOAL (#20)
32’ CVF foul
36’ CVF foul
42’ CVF corner
43’ FMFC substitution (#5 Mehl out, #12 Brotherton in)
44’ FMFC foul
45’ CVF GOAL
47’ FMFC Yellow Card (#4 Osmond)
48’ CVF Yellow (#10)

Half-Time Score: FMFC 2 – 3 CRV

2nd Half

48’ CVF foul
48’ CVF foul
51’ FMFC Yellow Card (#16 Crull)
51’ CVF penalty given
52’ CVF GOAL (#27)
53’ Red Card (#16 Crull)
55’ Yellow Card (#8 Conerty)
58’ CVF substitution
59’ FMFC Yelloc Card (bench)
63’ FMFC substitution (#14 Cichero and #17 Gebhard out, #2 Screen and #44 Da Silva in)
64’ CVF substitution
65’ FMFC foul
68’ CVF foul
70’ FMFC GOAL (#44 Da Silva)
72’ CVF foul
75’ CVF substitution
82’ FMFC GOAL (#9 Chaney)
90+1’ FMFC foul
90+3’ CVF foul