RECAP | Armada FC 3, United 3
It’s official — there’s no love lost between Jacksonville Armada FC and Minnesota United.
In what makes for their third wild matchup this year, the two sides played to a 3-3 draw that featured back-and-forth scoring as well as a sending off.
When the dust settled, the Armada FC had come away with four points in two games against tough opponents (New York and Minnesota), but Jacksonville and their 6,847 fans left lamenting the draw as a lost opportunity.
After botching a point-blank scoring opportunity in the first half and then leading 3-1 with fewer than 15 minutes to play, they failed to secure three points, as a 78th-minute goalkeeping error and 85th-minute Ibson finish erased that advantage.
In the 78th, Miguel Gallardo whiffed on what looked like a sure save from Justin Davis’ shot —apparently because he was watching on-rushing Minnesota forward Christian Ramirez out of the corner of his eye.
Then in the span of three minutes, Shawn Nicklaw picked up a second yellow card and was sent off, and Ibson knotted up the score.
What had once looked like a very bright evening beneath the storm clouds of Northeast Florida, punctuated by goals from Jemal Johnson, Akeil Barrett, and Alhassane Keita took a twist for the worst for the Armada FC.
For the first time since May, the Armada FC had all three first-choice forwards on the field, with Keita back from a red card at Minnesota two games earlier, Pascal Millien home from international duty, and Johnson in his usual place on the left.
The only missing piece was attacking midfielder Marcos Flores (injured).
But having the speedy Barrett as his replacement enabled a four-man swarm of speed with potential to overwhelm a defense.
That happened just five minutes in, when Barrett broke through on the right and sent in a ball that was deflected to Lucas Scaglia. When Scaglia took aim toward the back post, Johnson came streaking in for a sliding finish.
After the Armada FC struck, Minnesota took over. The next 15 minutes were punctuated by wave after wave of attack until, in the 21st minute, midfielder Kalif Alhassan had a cross that was blocked out for a throw-in. The throw went right back to Alhassan, who this time found a way through with a high cross to the back post, where 2014 NASL Golden Boot winner Christian Ramirez was waiting, unmarked.
His header tied the score, but the stalemate wouldn’t last.
Just two minutes later, it was Minnesota’s turn for an inexplicable lapse. Armada FC forward Alhassane Keita pressured keeper Mitch Hildebrandt, who was switched into the starting lineup shortly before kickoff.
Hildebrandt panicked and passed straight to Akeil Barrett, who wasted no time finishing for his first career goal.
The quick response was a welcome sight, but Jacksonville went to the locker room lamenting a missed opportunity for a third.
In the 40th minute, Millien’s cross was deflected to Keita, who seemed a safe bet to finish with his usual efficiency. Instead, his shot went wide and fell to Barrett, with time and space just outside the six-yard box. But Barrett didn’t get much on the ball, and it rolled into Hildebrandt.
In the 57th, it was the Armada FC’s turn for a fortunate escape.
Minnesota’s Ramirez chipped over Gallardo, who went flying into the back of the net trying to make a save. The ball clanged off the crossbar with Gallardo on the ground, but he recovered and came rushing out to stuff Daniel Mendes’ bid for a rebound equalizer.
The Armada FC seemed all set to follow the same script from a 1-0 win over the New York Cosmos two weeks earlier, bringing on defender Jordan Gafa for Millien to focus on holding the lead. But when center back Fabricio Ortiz went down with an injury five minutes later, they had to adapt.
With no direct replacement available, Guillermo Hoyos had to bring on midfielder Nicolas Perea instead and move Jaime Castrillón back to defense.
Two minutes later, that unorthodox lineup didn’t seem to matter as Johnson sent in a ground cross from the left that Keita finished on the run, but that comfortable lead became nothing more than a set up for a wild result to rival their 3-2 and 4-0 losses at Minnesota earlier this year.
