Photo by Tampa Bay Rowdies/NASL
By AARON CRANFORD
Entering Week 5, three NASL teams are undefeated and two remain winless, but all sides still have a chance to claim the Spring Season crown.
After the weekend, we’ll be at the halfway point, yet no team has asserted itself as top dog in the league. Currently leading the table, the New York Cosmos can try to widen the gap between them and the rest of the field with their second home match of the year vs. a slumping Ottawa Fury FC side, which has lost three consecutive games — two against FC Edmonton and one vs. the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in NASL competition.
Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Rowdies are another team that can separate themselves from the pack with a convincing win on the road against the Carolina RailHawks. They have looked sharp going forward and even added another tool to their belt with El Salvador international Richard Menjivar joining the squad after a midweek trade with the San Antonio Scorpions.
There are only 10 games in the spring, which makes the race for this crown more of a dead sprint and affords teams only one or two slip-ups before they’re out on contention. The title is important as ever, though, because the winning team claims a 2015 playoff spot, no matter how they fare in the Fall Season.
Here is a closer look at this weekend’s NASL action:
NEW YORK COSMOS vs. OTTAWA FURY FC (Saturday, 7 p.m.)
The Cosmos are one of three remaining undefeated teams in NASL, and they’d like to keep it that way at home. While they have not been the most fruitful team going forward through four games, the Big Apple side have had the best defense in the league bar none, allowing only one goal on the year.
Fury FC is coming off of a demolishing during the midweek, as their NASL Canadian counterpart FC Edmonton handed it a 3-1 (6-2 on aggregate) defeat in the Amway Canadian Championship. Paulo Junior and Tom Heinemann have been the two bright spots for the Candian club, but they’ll both be heavily tested against the strong defense of the Cosmos.
CAROLINA RAILHAWKS vs. TAMPA BAY ROWDIES (Saturday, 7:30 p.m.)
The RailHawks have been plagued by the injury bug lately, with forwards Nacho Novo and Simone Bracalello both being subbed off before the 30th minute in consecutive weeks. However, the Cary side signed Jaime Dell Wednesday to add depth to their depleting attacking options.
Meanwhile, the Rowdies only became stronger in attack after announcing a trade for Menjivar, who was named an NASL Best XI selection in 2013 and also made appearances for the El Salvador national team, most notably in friendlies against Argentina and Guatemala in March.
FORT LAUDERDALE STRIKERS vs. ATLANTA SILVERBACKS (Saturday, 7:30 p.m.)
Like their Florida-rival Rowdies, the Strikers are hot, having scored seven goals in the last three weeks of action, but the Silverbacks will be a different monster to deal with for the Fort Lauderdale side.
Forward Shaka Bangura has also started the 2015 campaign off well, but the Silverbacks’ most impressive performance to date has been Steward Ceus’ play in goal vs. the New York Cosmos on Saturday. Ceus held the New York side at bay by recording seven saves on the night. He’ll most likely have to stand on his head again, as the Strikers attack looks to continue its roll.
JACKSONVILLE ARMADA FC vs. SAN ANTONIO SCORPIONS (Saturday, 7:30 p.m.)
Nothing but good news has come out of San Antonio’s camp this past week, as the club signed Nigerian international Bright Dike from Toronto FC, acquired Brad Rusin from the Rowdies to shore up their defense and Adriann Cann, the team’s captain, was announced as medically clear to play vs. Armada FC.
Armada FC has not yet had to leave the state of Florida in the 2015 season. It’ll hope a crowd of 16,000-plus will show up once again in their second home match to help end the Scorpions’ good week and keep them among the remaining winless teams in NASL.
FC EDMONTON vs. MINNESOTA UNITED FC (Sunday, 4 p.m.)
After having an unstoppable attack last year, 2015 has not been so kind to Minnesota United. It took the 2014 Spring Season winner three games to score its first two goals of the 2015 season. However, confidence comes with goals scored, and the Loons will meet an FC Edmonton team that has conceded a handful already this year.
The Eddies should not be taken for granted, though, as they have been one of the most prolific NASL teams in attack, led by the wing play of Sainey Nyassi and Lance Laing. The Canadian club advanced to the Amway Canadian Championship semifinals after beating Ottawa Fury FC 3-1 – 6-2 on aggregate – midweek. The final match of Week 5 should be quite the slugfest.