By: Pedro Heizer
Photos By: Jon van Woerden
FORT LAUDERDALE – Rivalry was renewed at Lockhart Stadium Wednesday night when the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and F.C. Tampa Bay renewed a rivalry that dates back 30 years.
The Strikers came out of the gates in high gear, which is something rare for this team. The Strikers had many missed opportunities in the first half and they knew it, “It was frustrating to say the least, we just weren’t sharp in front of the goal today,” Strikers forward Abe Thompson said. “The first half we were very aggressive, we had a lot of chances and just couldn’t score,” added head coach Daryl Shore.
Eduardo "Chacho" Coudet leaps over an FC Tampa Bay player for the ball.
To give you a glimpse of how lopsided the first half was, the Strikers had 14 shots in the first half compared to F.C. Tampa Bay’s four.
There’s an old saying that goes like this, “if you don’t score, you will get scored on” and that’s exactly what happened to the Strikers.
In the 67th minute, in a mixed signal after a set play, F.C. Tampa Bay’s Mike Ambersley was one-on-one with defensive player of the week Matt Glaeser and scored on a simple chip that found the back of the net to put his team up 1-0.
Just when it looked as if the Strikers’ undefeated streak was all but over, Strikers’ midfielder Eduardo Coudet, known as “Chacho” among fans and teammates, scored his fifth goal of the season on a beautiful set piece from about 25 yards from the goal, the ball just missed the gloves of F.C. Tampa Bay’s keeper Jeff Attinella who was having a terrific game and earned the LA Fitness player of the match.
“Soccer’s funny because you can have a team on their heels and one chance you go down 1-0. It took a free kick from Chacho to save the game for us,” said coach Shore of the event that unfolded in from of 5,848 rowdy fans at Lockhart Stadium.
“We were fortunate that Chacho scored the free kick” added forward Abe Thompson
“The game was difficult, Tampa is a good team,” said the hero of the match Eduardo Coudet, “The one point is nice, but we would rather have gotten the three points.”
The Strikers move to 3-2-8 in the season with 17 points and F.C. Tampa Bay moves to 3-5-5 in the season with 14 points.
The Strikers won’t get a break from this Tampa team, as they will face them once again on July 4th in Tampa Bay. Game can be seen online at strikers.com