Fort Lauderdale CF fell 1-0 on the road against the Greenville Triumph in the second matchup between the sides this season. The match at Legacy Early College kicked off at 7:00 p.m. ET and aired live on ESPN+.
The game started off with an early attempt from Greenville Triumph SC’s Allen Gavilanes, who passed the ball toJesus Ibarra who was inside the box. Ibarra tried finishing with a header, but was soon halted by Fort Lauderdale goalkeeper Luis Zamudio. Fort Lauderdale rebounded shortly after the play thanks to a quick long pass from Harvey Neville, but was met with a missed opportunity for the Herons at the 7 minute mark. The play was Fort Lauderdale’s first target shot of the night. Shortly after, Romeo Beckham curled a dangerous ball to his teammate Shaan Hundal, but his shot ended up going over the right side of the goal.
In the 33rd minute of action, Triumphs’ Ibarra delivered a shot after dodging several Fort Lauderdale players, but his attempt was cleared out of the way and over the goal thanks to Fort Lauderdale’s tenacious defense.
Right before halftime Greenville’s winger Ibarra showed up yet again and tried to slot the ball into the net, but was denied by an impeccable defensive play by Fort Lauderdale center back Modesto Mendez.
The second half presented a highly contested 45 minutes of action and it seemed as if the match was going to end scoreless. However, in the minutes right before stoppage time, Greenville created danger for Fort Lauderdale many times, but was met by a sturdy defensive unit until Don Smart made a diagonal pass into the box and the ball was accidentally pushed into the back of the net by Áime Mabika for an own goal in the first minute of added time. The goal resulted in a 1-0 lead for Greenville Triumph, which ultimately was enough for the hosts to win the match.
Next up Fort Lauderdale will take a midweek trip to the Cornhusker State as they take on Union Omaha on the road at Werner Park on Wednesday, Oct. 6 at 8 p.m. ET.
