Own Goal Helps Sink Irons 9-6

Well, at least the Giants won.

The Ironmen (10-9) dropped their fourth straight match when they took on the first place Milwaukee Wave (14-6) yesterday at the Prudential Center. The loss was their second in consecutive days.

Fatigue seemed to be a factor early in the match as the Irons and Wave were able to muster only one goal apiece in the first half. Both teams played matches less than 24 hours prior to Sunday’s contest.

The Irons struck first when a Gordon Kljestan cross found an open Ryan Johnson in the penalty area, who deposited the ball for a two-point tally with 1:17 to go in the first quarter. However, the Wave pulled even midway through the second stanza when Marcelo Fontana banged home a two-pointer after the Ironmen defense failed to clear a contested ball deep in their zone.

Irons’ keeper Tony Meola was sharp early on, stopping three quality scoring opportunities. Meola’s best save occurred about six minutes into the match when he left his line to block a close-range shot from a wide open Warren Ukah.

Despite the respectable start, New Jersey came apart in the third quarter after a pass back from Irons’ forward Gary Brooks found its way past a surprised Tony Meola, who was positioned close to the top of the penalty area. The Wave added a pair of two-point goals after Brooks’ gaff to bring the score to 9-2.

The Ironmen closed the gap to 9-6 on Tim O’Neill and John Krause goals, but were unable to muster any serious pressure in the closing moments of the contest despite bringing on a sixth attacker with 4:10 left on the clock.

The Irons entered this weekend’s contests in fourth place and only two games out of first. Their loss Saturday night to the 12-7 Chicago Storm, coupled with Sunday’s defeat, drops the Ironmen to fifth in the standings and places them 3.5 games behind league leading Milwaukee.

On a lighter note, the match looked to be relatively well-attended despite being scheduled on Super Bowl Sunday. A few die hard Fe26 members were in the crowd cheering on the sputtering Irons.

New Jersey’s next game will be in Baltimore on 2/16. Check back for a game preview.