Lets just put it this way, the Atlanta Silverbacks are as good a team as their is in the A-league when they play the way they want to. After a deflating OT loss to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds last Saturday, the Silverbacks rebounded and now after a 3-0 win against the Tennessee Rhythm look as good ever.
It was an extremely warm night and I was sweating within minutes after settling down in my seat. The team seemed very upbeat and ready for a tough game. It turned out to be a very one-sided one.
The first chance of the game came in the 26th minute when Iggy Moleka found himself wide open behind the Tennessee defense inside the 18. He dribbled right around the Tennessee goalkeeper and found himself with a wide open net on the left side of the 6 yard box. He used his left foot to strike the ball and it hit the post and flew across the goal mouth. Josh Henderson knocked a turn-around shot just wide of the net on the rebound. But Moleka would make up from his unfortunate miss only minutes later however. When Left Midfielder Brian Piesner dribbled around the Tennessee defense and sent a cross across the 6. Iggy Moleka put the ball in the right corner and the Silverbacks led 1-0. The two teams battled for 20 minutes after that. Both defenses would turn the offenses back time and time again. But Tennessee became more and more frustrated with their lack of chances and began to push the defense up to midfield. A long ball over the top to Iggy Moleka (that appeared to be offside) gave the Silverbacks a 2-0 lead as he put the ball into the corner to give Atlanta an insurmountable lead. Then, after Moleka was substituted for substitute forward Stilian Shishkov, Patrick Beech beat the Tennessee defense and squeezed the ball under the keeper and into the net. Tennessee was to fatigued to even mount an attack after that and the Silverbacks won their third straight game at home.
Everyone was upbeat after the game. The fans, but most of all the players.
"This is what it is all about," Coach Nuno Pitiera said smiling to me after the match refering to the win and the bonus points the Silverbacks got for getting a clean sheet as well as three goals," five points, this is what its all about."
And after the match I realized just what a great team this is. This is their third straight win at home, all have been by a 3-0 score and leave the Silverbacks wondering just how well they will do in the A-League playoffs. And after these last few home games, there may be no limit to how far they could go.
