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Adrian Heath's Austin Aztex Prepare For USL Debut |
MLS News | |||||
Thursday, 12 March 2009 22:44 | |||||
Austin Aztex, the newest professional team in the U.S., continued their preparations for their inaugural season in the United Soccer Leagues First Division—North America’s second tier behind Major League Soccer—with a spirited 2-2 draw against Texas rivals Houston Dynamo last weekend. The club is owned by Stoke City board member Phil Rawlins, an Englishman based in the Texas state capital, and the two teams have a formal partnership which will see the Aztex acting as a potential source for future Potters players. Heath has bolstered his fledgling squad of young American talent with four players from England’s lower leagues, the most notable being another former Stoke man Gifton Noel-Williams. The two-sided ground lies adjacent to the main highway running eastbound to Houston and its open ends create a wind tunnel which, compounded by the artificial surface and dominating presence of American football lines, adds complexity to the simplest of tasks. The travelling El Batallón and Texian Army supporter groups did their part to create a lively atmosphere while Austin’s stadium announcer enlightened the novices among the home crowd with frequent updates on the action. Hopefully he won’t be required to trumpet every “Corner to Austin” for too long. Despite some slick play by Dynamo midfielders Brad Davis and Stuart Holden, the Aztex struck first on 21 minutes when Noel-Williams released Sullivan Silva down the right to score the club’s first ever goal. An exuberant Silva sprinted to the West Stand to be embraced by fans and team-mates alike while our trusty announcer did his best to sour the historic moment by blasting DJ Ötzi over the tannoy. Sadly for Silva he was to become better acquainted with the physio minutes later after limping out of the game. Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear came to the aid of his opponents by asking the referee to allow Heath to introduce a substitute in place of his fallen captain. Kinnear said afterwards: “We wanted to play against eleven. It’s an exhibition so it doesn’t do either team any good to play with a man down.” Former Dynamo reserve Kyle Brown’s effort was thwarted on the goal-line by young goalkeeper Tally Hall. Still our esteemed officials waited before realising nobody was paying attention to them. With “Pump up the Volume” by M/A/R/R/S now filling the night sky, the referee simply cut his losses and trekked back to the halfway line. Kei Kamara looked to have won the game for Houston when he rounded goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo and found the net, only to be denied by another bizarre refereeing decision. Gallardo was adjudged to have deliberately handled the ball outside his penalty area as he failed to deny the Sierra Leone international. Play was pulled back in any case—Houston were rewarded with a free kick; Gallardo went unpunished. Whether the team’s successes or failures are debated in the city’s famed Sixth Street bars or not...well, that may have to wait another few years. Source: Click Here
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