1-1 Draw for AFC Mobile and New Orleans Jesters
By AFC Mobile
AFC Mobile drew the New Orleans Jesters 1-1 on Saturday night at the Archbishop Lipscomb Athletic Complex to remain unbeaten at home in the 2021 season.
“The Jesters are a tried and true NPSL club,” AFC Mobile head coach Steve Wieczorek said.
“So the positives – we’ve played them twice, we’ve got two draws. They were competitive games, we’re evenly matched. Maybe they had a little bit more of it today, but again we’ve had enough chances to win games and win this game tonight. So I’m proud of the guys’ effort.”
It was an even affair in the first 20 minutes of the match with few scoring opportunities for both sides.
The Azaleas opened the scoring in the 20th minute thanks to some fantastic combination play between Ronaldo Fortune and midfielder Soane Deminguet. Fortune played the ball to Deminguet, who dribbled down the left wing and sent an arching cross back to Fortune at the top of the box. Fortune chested the ball down and struck it with his first touch, sending it soaring over New Orleans goalkeeper Lemoy Graham and into the back of the net.
“Credit to Soane, it was a beautiful play leading up to the goal,” Fortune said. “To be fair, he played the ball to my chest and I had a good touch and I didn’t have enough time to dribble or anything, so I just thought ‘you know what? The coaches always tell me to shoot, so why not shoot.’”
Much of the first half saw New Orleans pressing hard to equalize, forcing Mobile’s goalkeeper to make a few spectacular saves to keep the home team’s lead. However, Blake was beaten in the 45th minute when New Orleans’ Sheldon Green sweetly struck a ball at the top of the box and into the Mobile net, making the match 1-1 at the half.
It was a defensive struggle to start the second half with both teams finding space and scoring opportunities hard to come by. Mobile saw a few chances near the end of the half when Fortune played a slick, low-rolling cross to Iba Ndaw.
Ndaw tried to find Fortune to complete the one-two, but the ball was easily cleared by the Jesters. Late in the match, Mobile’s Blake Palmquist was tightly marked and his shot soared over the crossbar.
The 1-1 draw keeps Mobile in fourth place in the NPSL Gulf Coast Conference standings. The Azaleas will welcome Southern States SC this Wednesday before taking on Pensacola FC next Saturday, both at home. The Jesters currently sit at third place in the conference table and will return to the pitch in New Orleans at Pan American Stadium against Tallahassee SC next Saturday.
Photo Credit: Michael Shartava
