Friday, May 4, 2012
HARRISBURG, Pa -- The Charlotte Eagles rallied to take their second consecutive victory with a 2-1 victory against the Harrisburg City Islanders on Friday night at Skyline Sports Complex on City Island in a rain-soaked encounter that saw a 1 hour, 22 minute lightning delay in the 32nd minute eventually gave way to a total of three second half goals.
An announced attendance of 1,223 turned out to cheer on Harrisburg in their home opener, though they quickly had to find shelter as thunderstorms began rolling in midway through the first half, and the game entered a weather delay in the 32nd minute with the game still scoreless. After the game resumed, strong defensive play continued to prevail throughout the remainder of the first half, as the game hit the midway point tied 0-0.
The fans who stuck around through the delay were treated to some early second-half excitement, as adjustments made by Harrisburg coach Bill Becher and the City Islanders during the abbreviated five-minute halftime yielded quick results. Antoine Hoppenot drilled a clever feed from Sainey Touray into the back of the net in the 47th minute to give the City Islanders the 1-0 lead.
But Darryl Roberts responded for the visitors in the 66th minute with an equalizer off of a pass from Joseph Kabwe, who had just entered the game five minutes earlier. Kabwe also set up what proved to be the game-winner just seven minutes later, as Jorge Herrera capitalized on a low cross to give Charlotte a 2-1 lead it would not relinquish.
With the win, Charlotte moves to 2-4-1 on the season, while Harrisburg drops to 1-1-1. The Eagles will travel quickly to Rochester to take on the Rhinos on Saturday night at Sahlen's Stadium at 7 p.m. The City Islanders will next play on Saturday, May 12 when they travel to Virginia for a 7 p.m. match-up with the Richmond Kickers.