The Austin Aztex defeated the Carolina RailHawks last night in front of a 4,000 plus crowd. After trailing by one in the first twenty minutes, the Aztex eventually fought back to achieve a victory of 3-2. Fresh off their goalless defeat last weekend against Puerto Rico, Eddie Johnson, Yohance Marshall and Randi Patterson all netted one for the Aztex.
Aztex Head Coach Adrian Heath praised his team’s performance and the determination they displayed: “Not only were the goals great, but so was the reaction of the players. I really thought this was one of our best performances tonight.”
Although the Aztex dominated possession, Carolina opened the scoring in the 18th minute after Josh Gardner found Daniel Paldini inside the box.
Fifteen minutes later, Lance Watson made a critical tackle, dispossessing a RailHawk player. Watson crossed to Johnson who drove the ball low into the left corner to even the score at 1-1.
“After the loss in Puerto Rico, we knew that we couldn’t take things for granted even though we have been doing so well,” said Johnson. “We proved again tonight that we have the ability to beat everybody in this league.”
In the second half the game opened up even more with Yordany Alvarez assisting Yohance Marshall in the 66th minute.
Substitute and recent newcomer Randi Patterson put pressure on the Carolina defense within minutes of entering the field. After outrunning the defense to pick up a ball played over the top, Patterson was one-on-one with the goalkeeper his touch played right into the keeper’s arms.
However, Patterson would eventually increase the Aztex lead by two goals, marking his first-ever Aztex goal.
The RailHawks attempted their own comeback in minute 83 when Allan Russell scored after congestion inside the penalty box. Russell capitalized on a deflection after Aztex goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo failed to get a firm hand on a previous shot.
Next up, the Aztex have a tough schedule by traveling to Portland on Thursday, who currently sit in second place behind the Aztex. Austin will then take on the Vancouver Whitecaps, who are in first place in the NASL Conference, on Sunday.
However, Heath does not seem worried about the upcoming schedule with a playoff berth inevitable.
“We’re mathematically ok, but what we want to do now is win the league. We have two very big games coming up, but I feel the win tonight was very important for the belief in our players.”
