The Atlanta Silverbacks roll into this Saturday's big game again preparing for a three week road trip. Unfortunately for Atlanta, the Silverbacks are uncertain who will be their starting keeper for that three week span, much less for this Saturday's game against the Raleigh Capital Express.
There have been many rumors about who might be the keeper for Atlanta this week, but one thing is for sure, Dallas Burn back-up Johann Noetzel won't be back for Saturday's match. Noetzel looked jittery and anxious in net last Saturday as Atlanta lost their first home match since opening day. Rumors have been circulating that the keeper for this week would be David Winner. Winner played at University of Tampa and has been a back-up keeper for the Columbus Crew the past two seasons; Winner played with the Connecticutt Wolves this season. However, today a rumor began circulating that he will be on the bench for Saturday's game. This could mean that Walter Valesky, who was a back-up in Atlanta all season could get the nod or perhaps someone else.
Well this is a "Match Preview," so now onto the actual match. Raleigh comes into the game with a sense of urgency; they find themselves in last place in the Atlantic Division, but not to far out of the playoff picture at the time. This game is also a Southern Derby Match which Atlanta is tied for first place with three points in after beating Raleigh, in Raleigh one week ago. The game should have a playoff atmosphere and should be very intense. The Silverbacks Midfield hopes to continue to improve with newcomer Alex Bahr, former German Bundeliga Midfielder Junuz Coralic, Josh Henderson, and Captian Jacenir Silva leading the way. They have shown signifigant improvement in the past three weeks, but still seem to be missing injured Ze Rodrigues (still no word on when he'll be back). The defense won't be able to make many mistakes because of the keeper situation; Zion Renfrum has had a solid few weeks and Iggy Moleka and Patrick Beech are the best there is in the A-League up front.
So regardless of who the goalie is for Atlanta, this is a big game for both teams. It would be quite a blow for Atlanta if they began their three game road trip after two straight home losses. And every loss has Raleigh falling farther and farther out of the playoff race. Both teams will want to win badly, and it should be a good intense soccer game. Sounds like just another game at Dekalb Memorial Stadium.
