Match Recap: MOBA Slip Late in the Rain, Fall to SC United 4-2

Soccer matches are ninety minutes, and if things are close as the end draws near, it is of the utmost importance that the energy level remain equal to or greater than your opponent's. While MOBA have consistently been in and even led the matches they have played in 2018, that one fact has made all the difference. Following back-to-back blown 2-1 leads in their first two games, Peachtree City once again found themselves on the wrong end of a late rally.

With the rain coming down hard for the entirety of the first half, it was without question that the match was not going to be pretty. For the duration of the opening forty-five, mistakes were running rampant on the Peachtree City side of the ball, and the Bantams capitalized well. In the eleventh minute, Liam Ireland cleverly flicked in a free kick to give the visitors the lead, and Peachtree City found themselves in an early hole. From that point on, it was all South Carolina, as the Bantams dominated possession and chances, going after Jack Hudson time and time again until former Peachtree City forward Edmundo Robinson did the dirty work in the thirty-fourth minute and buried a curling effort from the corner of the box to make the lead 2-0 before making a point of celebrating in front of the MOBA bench. The rest of the half quickly burned by, and spirits at the MOBA Soccer Academy were low in the showers.

Down two goals to a team that has dominated Peachtree City in the past, it was going to take what felt like a miracle to pull something out of the match. MOBA came out of the second half with a slightly different feel about them, as things seemed to be clicking just a bit more, but the issues were still there. As the half progressed, things got better, and eventually MOBA were able to capitalize on a solid run of play. In the fifty-seventh minute, Brandon Beresford played a ball across the pitch to Dean Foster who was waiting at the top of the box. Foster, with great awareness, saw Chris Davis making an unmarked run into the six, and he one-touched it right to him. Davis quickly cut back on his run, got one-on-one with the keeper, and buried his second goal of the year from close range to cut the deficit in half. All of the sudden, Peachtree City were back in the game, and the belief that they could potentially battle all the way back began to grow. Those beliefs were realized just eight minutes later when Kai Bennett drove into the eighteen before passing to Jerren Nixon who stopped on a dime and rushed the top of the eighteen. As soon as he saw the opening, Nixon blasted a curler past Edwards into the bottom corner, and just like that Peachtree City were level. To score two against the adversity they had been facing all night was a feat of its own, and now the thought of a third crept into everybody's mind. MOBA were certainly the better team for a fair portion of the second half, as the defense continued to hold strong, but passes just could not find their way to the attackers to get a third goal. Things fell apart quickly for the home side late, however, as in the eighty-sixth minute a ball fell right to SC United's Ben Gilligan who blasted it into the upper corner and gave the lead back to the Bantams. Just two minutes later, it was Gilligan again, this time capitalizing on a defensive lapse from Peachtree City by just touching in a free kick that was not dealt with, sealing all three points for the visiting Bantams in their first match of the season.

A lot can be said about the events of Tuesday, but it may just be best to move on and look ahead to MOBA's match with Memphis City on May 31st. Peachtree City plays Memphis twice in the span of three days, both of which are on the road. Memphis are winless in their first two PDL matches at 0-1-1, and they will be desperate to get back to winning ways. They were shutout in their last match against Mississippi, which could bode well for this Peachtree City defense that has shown they have the talent to compete, but it will require a full, ninety-minute performance in both matches if MOBA want to get six points and get back in the competition for the division title.

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