Thursday, June 28, 2012
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Charlotte Eagles defeated the Los Angeles Blues 3-2 on Thursday night at Charlotte Christian Stadium as Mauricio Salles, Christian Meza and Jorge Herrera each scored to move their side within three points of the sixth and final playoff position in the USL PRO standings. Bright Dike scored both goals for the Blues, giving him six goals in seven games since joining the club on loan from the Portland Timbers.
In hot conditions that at times approached 100 degrees early in the contest, both teams began slowly. The Eagles had the first chance of the night as they picked up consecutive corner kicks in the 12th minute, but the Blues were able to handle both opportunities without any trouble. The Eagles continued to hold possession in midfield, however, and were able to put pressure on the Blues' defense.
That pressure paid off in the 29th minute, when Miguel Ferrer drove into the penalty area and drew a handball, giving the Eagles a penalty kick. Salles made quick work of the penalty, beating Blues goalkeeper Jose Miranda to put the Eagles up 1-0.
The Eagles doubled their lead three minutes later as Darren Toby flicked a pass through for Meza, who was able to slide his shot into the back of the net. Los Angeles came close to pulling a goal back in the 42nd minute when it was awarded a free kick just outside the penalty area, but the Blues were unable take advantage of a deep-lying Eagles' defense as Charlotte maintained its two-goal advantage at the break.
Blues coach Charlie Naimo made four substitutions to open the second half, and their presence was felt immediately. With a much more aggressive style, the Blues strike partnership of Dike and Brian Farber began causing problems for the Eagles back line. Dike scored his first of the game in the 58th minute as he muscled his way past the Eagles back four and placed the ball just past Reed, bringing the Blues within one.
With fatigue starting to set in, both sides started playing more directly, and the game continued to open up. The Blues continued to press for an equalizer, but it was the Eagles who would strike with three minutes to go as Nate Thornton create a chance. His cross into the penalty area found Darryl Roberts, who touched it on to Herrera, who put it in the back of the net.
The Blues immediately came back as Dike was able to score his second of the game a minute later, but while Los Angeles pushed for an equalizer in the three minutes of stoppage time, the Eagles were able to hold on to take an important three points.
The Eagles hit the road for their next outing as they visit the Charleston Battery on Friday, July 6 in the opening game of a home-and-home series that concludes on Saturday, July 7 at Charlotte Christian Stadium. The Blues will try to regroup ahead of their game on Saturday night when they visit the Wilmington Hammerheads at 7:30 p.m. ET at Legion Stadium.