Another shutout win for the Austin Aztex Sunday afternoon, though it didn’t look like it was going to happen for them until right at the end. Austin completely dominated the game, but with the Shell Shockers playing 10 men behind the ball almost the entire game, the Aztex couldn’t break through until the dying moments of extra time, when the referee pointed to the penalty spot following an Aztex corner kick, and A.J. Godbolt calmly slotted the ball just inside the left upright for the winner.
I haven’t seen any game stats, but the Aztex had the best of the play throughout, as New Orleans defended desperately, and refused to come out of their shell until suffering the shocker at the end. New Orleans only had one good scoring chance, a first-half screamer that forced a fine diving save from Austin keeper Miguel Gallardo. Other than that, pretty much all the play was in the New Orleans end of the field.
Following their dramatic win in Laredo Friday night, Aztex coach Wolfgang Suhnholz rested some regulars this time out – most notably central defenders Wes Allen and Beto Papandrea, who had played every minute of the season thus far. Filling in quite capably were a couple of the Aztex international players: Jamaican Kieron Bernard, and Jamie Scope, a 6’4″ Newcastle native seeing his first action of the season. With New Orleans playing a lone striker with little support, they were rarely tested, but handled every challenge comfortably.
Next up: a road trip to Jackson, Miss., next Saturday, May 31, with the next home game Friday, June 6 against the El Paso Patriots. Meanwhile, the U.S. Open Cup draw is this coming Tuesday afternoon; that’s when we’ll find out who we play in the first round of that prestigious national tournament.
This article appears in May 23 • 2008.