RECAP | Silverbacks 2, RailHawks 1

The Carolina RailHawks lost a tight match, 2-1, against the Atlanta Silverbacks Saturday night at Atlanta Silverbacks Park.

The RailHawks set the tone for the game and broke through early with a Tyler Engel goal in the 1st minute, after he deflected a clearance from Silverbacks goalkeeper Steward Ceus into the goal. The RailHawks forward made his way into the starting lineup for the second time this season and scored his first professional goal.

The Silverbacks equalized in the 31st minute when Silverbacks forward Pedro Mendes barely slipped a goal past Akira Fitzgerald, who momentarily managed to get his hands on the ball.  The Silverbacks then went up 2-1 in the 34th minute due to a goal from Silverbacks midfielder Kyle Porter.

Looking to re-gain the lead, the RailHawks returned from halftime on the attack, where in the first 10 minutes of the second half the team was presented with two near opportunities from forward Nacho Novo and midfielder Nazmi Albadawi, who both clipped the top of the crossbar to nearly tie the match.

The rest of the second half continued in similar fashion. The RailHawks continued to press, but were ultimately unable to capitalize on close chances, despite Akira Fitzgerald’s brilliant performance in the second half.