Dayton Dutch Lions FC jump 3 places in standings in first ever win against Los Angeles
Los Angeles, June 23 2013 - The Dayton Dutch Lions FC beat the Los Angeles Blues Sunday night with 1-0 by a late goal of Tjeerd Westdijk. The assist came from Gibson Bardsley. The win means the Lions jump over Pittsburgh, Charlotte and Los Angeles in the standings and only one point behind 5th place VSI Tampa, with the Lions still having three games in hand.
The Lions grabbed the victory in the final minutes of the game after a poor clearance by the Blues, which set up the Dutch Lions for a quick counter-attack. Gibson Bardsley picked up possession in the right channel, and his low cross was met by Westdijk 12 yards from goal for a first-time finish past Mohammed Mohammedi.
The first neither side was able to create many clear-cut scoring opportunities. The Blues had a good chance early in the second half, but George Davis’ shot from 10 yards went over the crossbar. Dayton had its own chance to take the lead moments later, only for Blues goalkeeper Mohammedi to make a good save on a shot from 15 yards. Los Angeles forced a good save from Dayton goalkeeper Matt Williams in the 64th minute as Chris Cortez’s header appeared goal-bound, only for the Dutch Lions’ goalkeeper to tip the effort over the crossbar.
Dayton’s Eli Garner had a great chance to open the scoring in the 71st minute after being played into the right side of the penalty area, but he pulled his shot and it was blocked away to safety. Los Angeles’ Karim Barcelo had hit shot from 16 yards partially blocked before Williams collected the ball to keep the game scoreless with nine minutes to go, and Westdijk’s late goal gave the Lions three crucial points on the road.
Line up: Williams, Lors, Presciado, Harada, Granger, DeLass (C), Khutsidze (Kissinger), Madigan (Broekhuizen), Garner, Klaasse (Hertsenberg), Schwartzendruber (Bardsley)