RECAP: MED CITY FC 2, MINNESOTA TWINSTARS 1
Med City FC picked up where they left off after their last home game three weeks ago, with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Minnesota TwinStars, in front of more than 550 delighted fans.
While their last home game was a comfortable 4-0 victory over LC Aris FC on May 13th, the game against the TwinStars proved to be a much tougher affair. The TwinStars were coming off a big win over the previously undefeated Dakota Fusion, while Med City drew VSLT 1-1 in their last game.
The TwinStars started the first half in strong form, maintaining much of the possession, but were unable to crack the Med City defense. Med City began to turn things around after 15 minutes and started creating their owning attacking opportunities, with Jake Turnbull (Newcastle, England) being denied on a partial breakaway by TwinStars keeper Sean Teske.
The TwinStars responded in the 28th minute by capitalizing on a mistake made by a Med City defender, with Brian Chapman unleashing a powerful shot that hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced just over the Med City goal line to put the TwinStars up 1-0. Med City regained the majority of possession for the rest of the half, but could not generate many scoring chances.
The halftime talk seemed to have woken up the Med City players, as they stormed out of the gate with much more energy and focus than in the first half. This newfound determination quickly paid off after a beautiful string of passes in the 46th minute. Its culmination resulted in Med City striker Ayo Adebayo (Rochester, Minnesota) being tripped up in the TwinStars box which drew a penalty shot. Med City captain Midhat Mujic (Rochester, Minnesota) calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net to draw the home team level at 1-1.
Med City continued its dominance throughout the rest of the half, generating multiple scoring opportunities, but they were unable to capitalize. Finally the Mayhem broke through in the 76th minute after midfielder Alexis Tahet (Paris, France), found the foot of Ayo Adebayo, who cut in from the right side of the field, beating three TwinStars players and placing a left-footed shot off the post and into the net, putting Med City ahead, 2-1.
What was already a physical game got even more physical as TwinStars substitute striker Babatunde Oyekan, drew a straight red card. The TwinStars had to finish the game with ten men, and were unable to generate any offense over the final stretches. Med City could have made it 3-1, with a late shot by Thile Wilke (Dortmund, Germany) rolling across the TwinStars goal line, but never crossing it.
The final whistle blew after 6 minutes of stoppage time and Med City FC walked away with a hard-fought 2-1 win to improve their record to 3-1-1 for the season. That puts them into first place in the NPSL North Conference. Minnesota TwinStars fall to 2-2-2.
