Sunday, June 23, 2013
FULLERTON, Calif. – The Dayton Dutch Lions got a late goal to take a 1-0 victory against the Los Angeles Blues on Sunday evening at Titan Stadium. Tjeerd Westdijk scored the only goal of the game in the final minute as the Dutch Lions moved up to sixth place in the USL PRO standings.
A poor clearance by the Blues led to the Dutch Lions' goal as Gibson Bardsley found space on the right side as Los Angeles' defense was caught out of position. Bardsley's low cross found Westdijk, who hit a first-time finish home for his third goal of the season. Los Angeles tried to find an equalizer in stoppage time, but the Blues were able to hold on to add a victory to their draw in Phoenix on Friday night in their west-coast trip.
The Blues held more possession in both halves, but couldn’t find the back of the net. Los Angeles went close to opening the scoring early in the second half as George Davis IV shot over the crossbar from inside the penalty area. Dayton goalkeeper Matthew Williams made a good save from Chris Cortez in the 64th minute, tipping his header over the crossbar to keep the game scoreless.
Dayton's Eli Garner went close to opening the scoring with just under 20 minutes, only for Eli Garner to pull his shot wide from the right side of the penalty area. The Blues also came close with nine minutes to go, only for Karim Barcelo's shot from 16 yards to be partially blocked, allowing Williams to gather.
The game appeared to be set to finish scoreless, as the first meeting between the two teams had in Dayton on June 2, but Westdijk's late goal grabbed all three points for the Dutch Lions.
The Blues’ next home game is on July 4 at 7:30 at Titan Stadium against Antigua Barracuda FC. Dayton returns home to host the Rochester Rhinos, also on July 4, at 1 p.m. ET at Beavercreek Stadium.