ATLANTA – On a night when they dominated possession, the Jacksonville Armada FC could not capitalize on key opportunities and finished in a 1-1 draw with the Atlanta Silverbacks on Saturday night at Silverbacks Stadium.
Jacksonville (3W-1D-2L) finished with a 58-42 percent possession advantage and played strong defense for the majority of the match, but a goal from Atlanta's Hans Dennisen less than 30 seconds into the match proved to be the difference.
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Denissen scored on a pass that broke through the Armada FC's back line and left him all alone with Armada FC goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo.
After settling down and snatching control of possession, Jacksonville got the equalizer in the 20th minute when Alhassane Keita fired in a perfectly placed feed from Marcos Flores.
Atlanta (1W-5D-1L) nearly retook the lead when Jonathan Okafor fired a shot to the bottom left corner of the goal in the 49th minute, but it missed by inches. Okafor had another shot sail just over the outstretched hands of Gallardo and over the goal in the 61st minute.
The Armada FC continued to chip away at the Silverbacks' stingy back line with attacks. Midfielder Bochy Hoyos sent a sharp shot just wide in the 70th minute, while forward Jemal Johnson followed it up in the 74th minute when his free kick just missed the goal to the right.
Each team finished with nine shots apiece, however, Jacksonville had just one on goal.
The point gained from the draw gives Jacksonville 10 points and a third place standing in the North American Soccer League table and allows the club to stay within striking distance of the first place New York Cosmos, who have 15 points, while Tampa Bay slid into second place at 12 points with its 1-0 win over Fort Lauderdale.
The Armada FC will return to action next Saturday, May 23 when they travel north to take on Minnesota United at 8 p.m. EST.