Dalton battles Rayo OKC’s Michel for the ball in the second half. | Rosa Cavalcanti/Fort Lauderdale Strikers
By: Pedro Heizer
The magical playoff bid by the Fort Lauderdale Strikers is over following a 2-0 loss to Rayo OKC at Central Broward Stadium on Saturday night in front of 1,071 fans.
Despite getting all the help they needed from fellow NASL teams, the Strikers were unable to do their part and saw chances for a fifth NASL playoff appearance slip out of their hands in a game in which the club led in possessions, and shots.
The loss not only eliminates the Strikers but also eliminates Florida rivals Tampa Bay and Miami from postseason consideration. With the win, Rayo OKC finds themselves in the driver’s seat for the fourth and final NASL postseason spot with one game remaining.
The season-long issue that has plagued the Strikers of being unable to connect their backline to their attacking third was prevalent in the match. Stellar plays by Dalton and the defense would not find the attacking third of the field all night long, which caused frustration for Strikers players all night long.
After the 0-0 deadlock at halftime, it took Rayo OKC five minutes into the second half to score.
In the 50th minute, Michel’s left-footed free kick from 30 yards out was deflected by Strikers’ goalkeeper Bruno Cardoso right to the foot of Sebastian Ibeagha who tapped it in the corner for a 1-0 lead.
“It’s hard when you go down early in the second half and have to play catch-up,” added Zanardi. “After their firs goal we had to look for more goal-scoring opportunities and that put a lot of unwarranted pressure.”
After the goal, the Strikers began to put the pressure on Rayo OKC.
Forward Amauri came close to leveling the match in the 55th minute when his re-direct of a pass on the short side rolled on the outside of the post. Amauri also had a good header nine minutes later as it was blocked from making its way into the net by a Rayo OKC defender.
In the 67th minute it was Ramón Núñez who nearly leveled the match as his close-range shot was on its way to the left-side of the keeper, but Rayo OKC goalkeeper Bryan Byars made a spectacular outstretched save to preserve the lead.
In the third minute of stoppage time Pecka was able to score his first of the season, and first over his former club as the Brazilian had a sensational opportunity on goal and his shot was just out of the reach of Bruno.
The loss was the Striker’s eight shutout loss of the season.
“It’s hard,” explained Zanardi. “Our season was a mixture of highs and lows. We didn’t have a middle ground. We either won a handful of games or we lost a handful of games, we weren’t consistent all season long. We put too much emphasis on the first half of the season and that cost us in the end.”
Despite the loss and elimination from playoff contention, the Strikers were able to complete a rare feat in 2016 as the NASL club that made it the furthest in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. After eliminating DC United in penalty kicks, and defeating Orlando City 2-1 at Camping World Stadium, the Strikers fell to a stronger Chicago Fire side 3-0 in the quarterfinals.
“We fought hard through adversity [all season] and had a great run in the U.S. Open Cup,” said Strikers head coach Caio Zanardi. “We will work to build on the momentum from this season as we prepare for next year. We still have a game in Ottawa next week in which we will compete hard.”