AFC Mobile once again broke the Gulf Coast Premier League attendance record as 1,040 fans were on hand at the Archbishop Lipscomb Athletic Complex to see the home team fall 2-1 to CD Motagua of New Orleans.
“That’s an amazing feat. We never even imagined to have a hundred… to get a thousand today, that says a lot about what the team is to the city and what we bring to the table. We can only improve from here,” said AFC Mobile co-captain Martin Fiemawhle.
AFC Mobile nearly opened the scoring six minutes into the match when Chisom Ogbonna broke away on a counter attack and was brought down by a Motagua defender.
Mobile’s best early chance came in the 14th minute when Ogbonna danced his way down the lefthand side of the box, bringing Motagua’s goalkeeper to his knees. Before reaching the touchline, he sent the ball back to Clairy Kengeye in the center of the box. Kengeye took a shot at an open goal, but it was deflected by Motagua defender Anthony Pieters.
Motagua’s Reese Wilson took a shot in the 27th minute that was easily collected by goalkeeper Barou Ndaw, who made his first start of the season for AFC Mobile.
The away team was awarded a free kick just outside the box in the 30th. Motagua sent the ball into the box and, after a late run and a little scramble in front of the goal, Pieters shot bounced its way into the net, but the apparent goal was called back for offside. After the no-goal, Motagua’s Steven Morris was promptly shown a straight red card for dissent.
AFC Mobile tried to capitalize quickly on the one-man advantage. Ogbonna fired in a shot from the left side of the box that was saved by the Motagua keeper.
Despite being down a man, Motagua took the lead in the 42nd minute when Wilson scored a screamer from the righthand side.
“What’s crazy is we always have a few chances to score, to get on the board and, whether it’s a post or a bad hit or a good save, we don’t quite connect on that and then we give up one chance and we’re down,” said AFC Mobile head coach Nate Nicholas. “It makes it real difficult when the other team’s strike rate is one-for-one and ours is zero-for-five.”
Ogbonna got another chance to equalize before halftime. Forward Brian Singler laid the ball off for him at the top of the box, but his shot was easily saved.
Motagua took a 2-0 lead in the 70th minute after Brandon Chagnard finished a shot from the middle of the box. Four minutes later, Mobile cut the lead in half after Ogbonna got on the end of a give away from a Motagua defender. Ogbonna fired home a close range shot from a tight angle, sending the crowd of over 1,000 into a frenzy.
Mobile nearly leveled the game after a bit of fancy footwork from Kengeye, but his first effort was saved and a rebound were both saved.
Mobile’s last chance to equalize came in the 94th minute when goalkeeper Ndaw sent a free kick into the box that nobody could capitalize on. The whistle blew, and the game finished 2-1 in favor of CD Motagua New Orleans.
AFC Mobile will travel to Biloxi next week to take on Biloxi City FC in the final match of the 2017 Gulf Coast Premier League season. The club is organizing a bus trip for fans. Tickets are $30 which includes a spot on the bus and a ticket to the match. Spaces are limited, so buy your ticket today!
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