Goal by #17 Clay Dimick (90+’)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (July 19, 2023) – The Charlotte Independence earned a late win against Greenville Triumph SC thanks to a stoppage time goal by #17 Clay Dimick. The Jacks are back at home on Saturday, July 22 to face Central Valley Fuego FC. First kick is set for 7:00 p.m.
After a thrilling finish, Head Coach Mike Jeffries shared his overall thoughts. “The guys played really well and created a lot of chances. To keep the fight and find a way to break through was huge. It’s a big three points obviously.”
It was a quiet first 15 minutes for both sides until #7 Avionne Flanagan dribbled down the left side and sent a cross into the box off a rebound, finding #9 Dane Kelly. The striker tricked Greenville goalkeeper #99 Jared Mazzola into diving the wrong direction, but Kelly’s shot was saved by Mazzola’s foot.
Another close chance for the Independence came in the 23rd minute as #11 Tresor Mbuyu sent a powerful shot directly at Mazzola off a cross from #10 Miguel Ibarra. Flanagan brought the power in the 38th minute with a strike from outside the penalty area, earning a corner kick for the Jacks. After the corner kick, the pressure continued on the Greenville defense with a central shot by Kelly after a pass from Ibarra.
The Jacks kept attacking as a shot by #8 Joel Johnson went narrowly wide in the 44th minute. A long ball over the Triumph defense to Ibarra from #6 Omar Ciss forced Mazzola to attack, and Ibarra’s touch was just too long to beat the keeper.
Halftime: Charlotte Independence 0, Greenville Triumph 0.
A solo dribble by Mbuyu in the 53rd minute ignited the Independence offense to start the second half. Mbuyu weaved through a few Greenville defenders, but his shot was saved. Johnson and Ciss each launched long range shots in the following minutes searching for an opening goal.
Ciss showed off his foot skills before unleashing a shot off the crossbar in the 66th minute. A breakaway run by Mbuyu in the 75th minute was almost lethal, but a stumble allowed the defense to catch up and mitigate the danger.
In the 90th minute, a ball across the endline by #2 Fabrice Ngah found the head of #90 Khori Bennett, but his attempt landed wide. The Jacks kept knocking as Mbuyu played a ball across the face of goal in stoppage time, but there was nobody in the path to finish it.
With almost the final kick of the game, Dimick buried a loose ball in front of goal to give the Independence a stoppage time winner.
Full time: Charlotte Independence 1, Greenville Triumph 0.
“It’s good to have a game in Richmond where we come back and get a late equalizer and obviously much better to find a winner on pretty much the last kick,” Jeffries explained.
This was the eighth clean sheet of the season for the Jacks. #1 Austin Pack added another five saves to his league-leading season total.
“In the last few games, we’ve been conceding quite a few goals, so tonight we dug deep and went back to the basics on what we do,” defender #4 Nick Spielman said. “Austin also made a couple big saves, and we got the clean sheet.”
“The most important thing is to get the three points,” Ciss shared. “We have the next game on Saturday, and the focus is on getting ready for Saturday to win that game too.”
NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE: The Charlotte Independence will play Central Valley Fuego FC on Saturday, July 22 at American Legion Memorial Stadium. First kick is set for 7:00 p.m. For ticket information, visit charlotteindependence.com.
