Sunday, June 16, 2013
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- The Harrisburg City Islanders improved to 4-1 in their last five games and moved firmly into second place after a 3-1 win over the Antigua Barracuda FC on Sunday at Skyline Sports Complex. The Islanders were able to bounce back from a loss last week to the Colorado Rapids Reserves with a strong showing against the Barracudas. Sainey Touray netted his seventh goal of the season, moving him to third in the league in scoring. 
Antigua came out playing very defensively, keeping eight players behind the halfway line for the majority of the first half. The Islanders had a few early chances but were not able to get any quality chances on net.
The opening goal came in the 30th minute when Islanders’ forward Morgan Langley drove down the middle of the pitch after a pass from midfield opened up the field. Langley had team leading scorer, Touray, to his left but decided to keep it to him self and take the shot. The initial shot was saved by Antigua’s goalie, Molvin James, but he was not able to control it. The ball came right back to Langley’s feet, and he struck it into the net for his fourth goal of the season.
The next goal came off a botched play by the Antigua defense. The ball was punted high in the air to Touray, who controlled the ball off his chest, only for it to fall to the Barracudas' Karanja Mack. The Antigua defender tried to control the ball, but Touray slipped around the defense and tapped the ball that dribbled across the line for the second goal of the game and ultimately the game-winning goal.
Within the first two minutes of the second half the Barracudas cut the Islanders’ lead in half with a goal from Orlando Mitchum. The ball fell to Mitchum, who took a shot that deflected off Nick Noble into the air. Mitchum jumped and got his head on the ball, which then floated over Noble for Antigua’s first goal against the Islanders.
The pivotal point in the game came when Antigua's Eugine Kirwan came streaking down the field and put a shot through the goalmouth. The cross fell to Mitchum, who was unable to get his shot on target to keep the Islanders up by one.
The final goal of the game came off of a laser shot by Yann Ekra from a knifing pass from Lucky Mkosana, who redirected a pass to Ekra from the top of the penalty area; Ekra took one step and struck the ball hard and true, and the shot blew past the outstretched James, who never had a chance, and to the back of the net.
The Islanders next home match will be against their major league affiliate the Philadelphia Union in the annual Battle for the Capital friendly on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. The next league game for the Islanders will come this Friday night at 7 p.m. against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds at Highmark Stadium in the latest edition of the Keystone Derby.
For tickets and information about the Harrisburg City Islanders visit www.cityislanders.com or call (717)-441-GOAL.