After scoring in the 38th minute to give themselves a 0-1 lead by halftime, Lacrosse Aris looked every inch ready to protect their early goal by drawing back their men to the defensive quarter clearing every ball that sought to threaten their goalkeeping man.
FC Minneapolis just didn’t seem to have its strategy right; failing to keep its possession and playing long balls like those of its visitors and things weren’t even going to get better on the City Lions side; for Jewel Arthur- the young Liberian Right back had to be helped off the field after succumbing to a chest injury having been elbowed by the Lacrosse wide man.
James Brent another notable Liberian, just 17 came in for Arthur and he was able to hold the right back until the halftime whistle.
In the second half, Varney Cole made some changes to the club’s formation using only 3 defenders, 4 midfielders and 3 strikers pushing James Brent to play alongside Solomon Ikechi, Edward Flahn, and Ochan Ochogi while Ian Sendi, Abunyanyi Lual and Damey Moise were pushed up to forge the club’s attacking force.
By the 60th minute of the match, FC Minneapolis’ Abunyanyi Lual had scored a beautiful inside net to give the home team an equalizer they had so much worked for.
Washington Jimenez came in for Ochan Ochogi and Fabian Aguilar for Edward Flahn.
FC Minneapolis didn’t stop its attack on the Aris goal line from the start of the second half to the final whistle and Ian Sendi who had switched from his routine right wing to the left dribbled through the defensive wall cutting back to find Solomon Ikechi with a well powered minus pass who finished beautifully to give the City Lions a 2-1 lead.
With only 3 minutes to go, Lacrosse were able to score an equalizer from a close free kick that was deflected past Chris Madsen to bring the Match to a 2-2 level by full time.
FC Minneapolis will play their final league game on August 6th when they host Duluth FC at the Einer Anderson Stadium.
Ian Sendi who suffered an ankle injury, walking off the field but eventually returning to the action told our website this morning that, “We are a team that woke up so late in the season. We have drawn and won a few matches but lost a number and that has gone against our record.”
“I urge my teammates and coaches to learn from our mistakes and stay prepared for the seasons ahead.” The Ugandan added.
Samuel Otieno, the Club’s captain is expected to return to training tomorrow along with Amoah Kwaku and Victor Corral as the club prepares for it’s final league campaign.
