North Carolina FC beat Ottawa Fury FC 3-1 thanks to a late goal by forward Robbie Kristo. The two sides entered the match separated by just two points and the result puts NCFC on the verge of clinching a playoff spot.
Prior to tonight’s match, NCFC had been winless in its last five with four losses and a single draw. The skid followed directly behind a period of good form for NCFC where they took 15 points from a possible 21.
“We have had a tough stretch,” NCFC head coach Dave Sarachan said. “September’s been a hard month for us there is no hiding that fact. I think our guys, despite the results over the last few weeks, the message and the work has been just keep grinding. Keep pushing.”
The 82nd-minute game-winning goal was created and scored by a pair of substitutes, Kristo and former NC State men’s soccer player Manny Perez. Perez picked up the ball wide and cut it back to Kristo whose shot was deflected by an Ottawa defender before looping over the head of the keeper and into the back of the net.
Following his goal, and for a second time this season, Kristo was shown a yellow card for his goal celebration. The celebration saw Kristo don a mask for the second time this season with the first coming in the 3-3 draw with Bethlehem Steel FC where Kristo scored twice.
“Kinda just give the fans what they love,” Kristo said about his thinking with the celebration. “They come here and support us. So let’s support them.”
The game did not start well for NCFC with the home side going behind just over four minutes into the match with Ottawa’s Thiago De Freitas heading home a Carl Haworth corner. The following 40 minutes of the first half was not much better for NCFC as they would go into the break being outshot 8-3 despite holding 62% of the possession.
“I thought Ottawa got into a good defensive block in the first half,” Sarachan said. “So we didn’t create as much. We talked at halftime, tactically, about how we think we could break them down a little bit. I was really happy with the energy we showed in the second half.”
The second half started much better than the first for the hosts with center back Sam Brotherton brining NCFC level just eight minutes into the half. The 6-foot-2 defender did well to get onto the end of a Graham Smith corner and put the ball past the onrushing Ottawa keeper who was caught in no man’s land on the corner.
Another former NC State men’s soccer player made his mark on the game in the 90th minute with midfielder Nazmi Albadawi grabbing an insurance goal just before the start of added time. Following a brilliant lofted cross from Perez, Albadawi brought the ball down at the far post and slotted it past the keeper. The goal was Albadawi’s third of the year after returning to NCFC on loan from FC Cincinnati.
Albadawi will be staying with NCFC following the conclusion of his loan as his contract with Cincinnati runs out at the end of the season and he has a verbal agreement to sign with NCFC once it does run out.
Perez, who only entered the game in the 70th minute, assisted both the winning and insurance goals. The two assists bring Perez to four total on the season in 18 appearances. While Perez has struggled with injury throughout this season, the impact he makes when in the game is clear.
“To be a reserve you have to have the right mentality,” Sarachan said. “Some players don’t know what it means to come in and what their role is. Manny is healthy and last week against Charleston he made a difference. I had to choose a different lineup tonight and Manny was a casualty from the first eleven but I knew that he would feature in the game. Having his speed and the real pleasing part tonight is the end product.”
The next match for NCFC will be on Saturday, Oct. 5 as they host league-leading New York Red Bulls Reserves.
Manny Perez dribbles the ball during NCFC’s 3-1 win over the Ottawa Fury FC on Saturday Sept. 28, 2019 at WakeMed Soccer Park. Perez is a former Wolfpack men’s soccer player and recorded two assists after subbing on in the second half.
