September 22, 2022 – United Soccer League One (USL1) – Forward Madison FC News Release
Forward Madison FC took on Central Valley Fuego FC on Wednesday, September 21st at 9:30pm CT at Chukchansi Park in Fresno, California. The match resulted in a 0-3 loss for the ‘Mingos after they went down to 9 men due to two second half red cards.
The Flamingos began the first half with a lot of energy as the squad’s defensive pressure caused Fuego some early trouble in the build-up of play. In the 9th minute of the match, Forward Madison committed a foul and gave Central Valley a free kick. Fuego’s striker Christian Chaney took the free kick and fired a shot into the upper right corner of the goal to give his squad an early 1-0 lead. At the 17th minute mark, Central Valley recorded a quality chance in the box, luckily for the ‘Mingos, Raiko Arozarena managed to make a quick save to prevent an early two-goal deficit. Arozarena came up with another crucial save in the 32nd minute when Chaney got a shot off from the right side of the box. In the 36th minute, the referee issued the first card of the match to Drew Conner. The first half of the match winded down, as both squads struggled to create chances in the final moments. Forward Madison logged its first corner of the match in the 45+5th minute of stoppage time. The Flamingos entered the halftime break down 1-0.
The second half of Wednesday’s match started poorly for the ‘Mingos. In the 50th minute, Matheus Cassini was issued a red card after a scuffle with Fuego broke out. After the booking, Forward Madison was forced to finish out the match a man down. Coach Matt Glaeser chose to pump some energy into his squad by subbing in Jeremiah Streng, Justin Sukow, and Rojay Smith in the 65th minute. At the 71st minute mark, Conner dished a perfect pass to Smith in the box. Smith recorded his squad’s first shot of the match, which Okef Antman managed to save. Just moments later, Conner challenged a ball late and was issued his second yellow card. Down two men for the rest of the match, Forward Madison faced an uphill battle with 15 minutes remaining. In the 82nd minute, Fuego continued to apply pressure on Forward Madison. The pressure worked as Central Valley’s Cherif Dieye fired a shot into the left corner of the goal, to give the Fuego a 2-0 lead. In the 90+2nd minute, Dieye got another quality chance as he broke free and slotted a shot past Arozarena. The final moments of the second half ticked away as Forward Madison…