League

SL Fires
Spectators: 6774 (Terracing: 5000, Seating: 1774, VIP seats: 0) SL FIRES's Kasey Blake started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. In the 3rd minute, Francis Varela hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. 6 minutes in the game, Kasey Blake dribbled his way through the penalty area and after maneuvering past an opponent, drilled a quick shot at the goal. The ball looked like it was going in, but it was hit a bit too hard and flew over the goal. Kasey Blake recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 9th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Blake Oakley received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 10th minute. Tyrone Duarte tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Tyrone Duarte showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Kasey Blake in the 12th minute of the match. 15 minutes had been played when some careless play by El Dorado's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Sanford Pierce was slow to take the kick. During this time SL FIRES's players had a chance to rest. The corner ended in Sanford Pierce almost managing to get the ball behind the net, but El Dorado's Tyrone Duarte did a great save. A collision led to SL FIRES getting a freekick after 21 minutes play. Rory Carrington hit a great ball. 22 minutes into the match, El Dorado's Ramon Krueger broke free and took a long shot that unfortunately flew wide. A fine initiative that could have resulted in a goal. The supporters of SL FIRES booed when El Dorado was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 25 match minutes in a wonderful position. Alexis Pickett didn't get a good kick on the ball. The audience thought a goal was coming when Blake Oakley got free with Tyrone Duarte in the 26th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. After 29 played minutes, El Dorado's Curtis Norris shot from a long distance, and at first it looked like the ball was going into the goal, but the goalkeeper Ricardo Shannon came through and got his fingers on the ball before it flew over the goal line. He then quickly gripped the ball tighter before the forwards in El Dorado reached it. In the 31st minute, El Dorado's goalie took a deep sigh of relief after Kasey Blake fired away a hard shot that went just outside the left post. Francis Varela received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 36th minute. Ricardo Shannon tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Basil Daley took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 38th minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Ricardo Shannon. SL FIRES's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. If Jared Connolly had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 41st minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. When Rory Carrington came up free with the goalie in the 48th minute, the SL FIRES fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Rory Carrington couldn't finish the play. When the referee blew for the end of the half the home team players were clearly happier, as they went in to the break leading 1-0.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Jared Connolly stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. After having played for 55 minutes, Milton Pham managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. El Dorado's supporters crossed their fingers, but Milton Pham was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. A collision led to SL FIRES getting a freekick after 58 minutes play. Rory Carrington hit a great ball. Francis Varela recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 61st minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. After 65 minutes, Alexis Pickett mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the El Dorado and the SL FIRES players grew even worse after the yellow card. Alexis Pickett kicked well hit freekick during the 65th minute of the match. In the 66th minute, Sanford Pierce sent off a long shot on goal, but the shot was nowhere near the goal and El Dorado's Tyrone Duarte didn't even have to move. If Jared Connolly had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 68th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The crowd rose to their feet as Jared Connolly kicked a wonderful shot that went in to the left of a diving Ricardo Shannon. That made the score 1-1 in the 71 minute of play. Jared Connolly sent away a hard shot on goal in the 77th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Rory Carrington hit a great freekick 88 minutes into the match. 90 minutes into the match, SL FIRES's goal looked a bit too open when Jared Connolly came free, but Ricardo Shannon reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Tyrone Duarte stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Blake Oakley's shot from short distance in the 94th minute. El Dorado were clearly unhappy with the draw, as they felt they had done enough to earn themselves a victory.