Canada U20 Match Report

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers defeated Canada’s U20 team last night 2-0 behind two goals from forward Abe Thompson. The Strikers started out the match controlling the majority of the possession, winning a corner in the first minutes of the match. In the 15^th minute Paulinho almost opened the scoring with a well-placed free kick but it was inches over the bar. Just ten minutes later, Strikers forward Aaron Wheeler was fouled hard in the box and was awarded a penalty. Strikers’ veteran Abe Thompson stepped up and buried his shot the bottom left corner for the opening goal. Canada responded aggressively, narrowly missing out on equalizing in the 35^th minute but was denied by Nic Platter making a great save. Just minutes later, a defensive mix up by the Strikers defense allowed a Canada forward have a shot on goal that nicked off the post and out of bounds. The first half ended with the Strikers leading Canada U20’s 1-0.

The second half began with the Strikers gaining the momentum they had in the first half and almost scoring in the opening minutes. Thompson nearly doubled his tally with a shot from inside the box but it was just over the bar. In the 73^rd minute midfielder Mike Palacio made a great turn splitting two defenders and firing a shot that was just saved by the Canadian keeper. Barely three minutes later, the Strikers wrapped up the game, when Thompson pounced on a rebound from a shot by Grant Kerr, and easily slotted it into the net.

CANADA U-20                                  0

FORT LAUDERDALE STRIKERS      2