By JOHN BOSCHINI
If there were any doubts about the dominance of the Carolina Railhawks after two winless games, they were removed with a 4-1 trouncing of FC Edmonton on Saturday.
Pablo Campos snapped a goalless drought that lasted nearly 700 minutes with a masterful brace to take the forward's goal total to eight on the season. Etienne Barbara added a fourth for the Railhawks, who` extended their lead back to 12 points over the Puerto Rico Islanders.
The Atlanta Silverbacks, after losing their 12 of their first 14 games, extended their unbeaten run to three games with a 2-1 victory over FC Tampa Bay. The win pulls Atlanta even with Montreal at the bottom of the table while FC Tampa Bay sits firmly in fifth place.
The Montreal Impact's dismal season continued with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the NSC Minnesota Stars. The Impact has not won since June 4 and has been shutout in five of its last seven games. Minnesota is in third place, 16 points off pole position.
Here is a look back at all the action in the NASL over the weekend.
NSC Minnesota Stars 1, Montreal Impact 0
Neil Hlavaty converted a penalty in the 33rd minute for the games only goal as Montreal failed to capitalize on a multitude of chances.
Hassoum Camara brought Devin Del Do down inside the box in the 30th minute and received a yellow for descent. Hlavaty sent Bush the wrong way for his third goal of the season. Montreal dominated play from them on, registering seven shots on goal but Minnesota keeper Joe Warren managed his fourth shutout of the season.
Carolina Railhawks 4, FC Edmonton 1
Two goals from Campos in the opening 70 minutes gave Carolina an easy victory at home over Edmonton.
Campos scored his first goal eight minutes before halftime when a deft piece of footwork put him a one-on-one with Rein Baart. Campos slipped his shot past the Edmonton keeper for a halftime lead. The Brazilian native doubled Carolina's lead in the 67th minute, beating the offensive trap and chipping Baart.
An own goal from Edmonton put Carolina up 3-0 and made its lead unassailable. Shaun Saiko made the scoreline respectable before Barbara scored in the 86th minute to break his own goalless drought.
Atlanta Silverbacks 2, FC Tampa Bay 1
FC Tampa Bay had its four-match unbeaten streak snapped at the hands of the resurgent Atlanta Silverbacks.
Atlanta got off the mark within the first 10 minutes when Junior Sandaval scored off an assist from Matt Horth. Atlanta doubled its lead 41st minute when Ciaran O'Brien headed home a long throw-in from Tyler Ruthven.
FC Tampa Bay managed to get a goal back before halftime courtesy of Aaron King's deflected shot but the visitors were unable to complete the comeback.
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What did you think of this weekend's results? More impressed with Carolina's victory or Atlanta's? What is the problem with Montreal? Can Minnesota catch Carolina?
Share your thoughts below.
Absolutely agree. Matty Horth is on fire right now. Dude was scoring goals. Now he gets an assist on Saturday night. His uptick in play has really led Atlanta on this hot streak. Get this guy the ball!
Definitely more impressed with Atlanta’s win. Carolina has shown that it dominates the NASL. This was only the third win for Atlanta, they are starting to turn things around.
hahhaha who would want to play in Iran? On the other hand i would be sad to see Rennie move to Montreal, would have liked to see him turn around Chicago.
As a Railhawks fan, I was pleased to hear that Campos and Barbara turned down a package deal that would have shipped them both off to Iran. Could have meant more money but they love living in Raleigh.