Still in first place with three games remaining in regular season
Miami Dutch Lions FC saw their six point lead in the conference standings vs Naples United FC brought back to three after a tough 0-3 loss on Wednesday evening. The loss is the teams first one in the 2021 season.
Naples United FC came out more aggressive and pressed the Lions from the beginning. Normally the Lions handle that very well but tonight they struggled to play their usual style with short combination play. Sames as in the away game (3-3), Naples scored first on a set piece. In the 7th minute a corner kick was awarded and the inswinging ball from the left was headed in at the first post. Naples kept pushing and created another chance in the 14th minute, when their left winger was wide open at the top corner of the box, but his shot went over the crossbar. The Lions struggled playing their own game and gave too much space to the Naples forwards. This lead to a second goal for Naples in the 17th minute, when Miami’s defense had a n unlucky clear in the feet of the n7, who dribbled inside the box and played the ball back which was simply put in the back of the net to give Naples a comfortable 0-2 lead. Naples dropped back more after the 2-0 lead and did not really create a chance anymore, but the Lions were also not able to create anything besides a free-kick that just went wide.
In the 2nd half the Lions came out a little more aggressive but simply could not get momentum. They started to play more offensive but then also gave up space in the back. In the 53rd minute the Lions created their first chance, on a good run on the left side the ball was played in the box in front of goal but Max Busch could not get his foot on it. In the 55th minute Naples was awarded a pk when Max Kraus came out and fouled the n11 of Naples. The pk was scored giving Naples a 3-0 lead. The Lions almost got their first goal of the game when Max Busch was wide open on the left side and had a clear shot in front of the goalkeeper, but his ball went over the crossbar. Despite the effort the Naples defense stood strong, the best chance was even for them in the 90th minute when Max Kraus saved a 1v1 situation.
Head Coach Robert Stoutenburg commented on the loss: “Naples simply wanted the game more than us tonight. If the work ethic is not there tactics and preperation don’t matter. We had some glimpses but for the 90 minutes we weren’t good enough today to deserve a win. We will be back at it tomorrow preparing us for our next game vs Miami United FC on Saturday.”
Despite the loss Miami Dutch Lions FC is still in 1st place in the conference. If Miami United FC wins tonight vs Storm FC they are 1 point behind and Naples United FC is three points behind.