USL League One, NISA & MLS Next Pro round-ups, May 3-5

After a week off for the inaugural round of matches in the new USL Jägermeister Cup, action resumed in USL League One at the weekend with a pair of matches on Friday night. The first, at Richmond Kickers' City Stadium brought One Knoxville to town, attracting a near-5,000 crowd. Knoxville had lost just once this season, to Dominic Casciato's high-flying Union Omaha side, and were expected to be a tough test for the home team. That certainly looked the case when German striker Kempes Tekiela volleyed the Scruffy City side ahead after half an hour, but Kickers never gave up looking for an equaliser, finding their reward two minutes from time through Adrian Billhardt's back post goal from a corner. Friday's second game was played out in front of just 754 fans at Fresno State Soccer Stadium in California, where Charlotte Independence warmed up for their US Open Cup clash with Atlanta United of MLS by taking on Jermaine Jones's Central Valley Fuego. With just one league win so far, Jones's rebuilding job is going slowly and Charlotte were probably always going to be too strong for Fuego on current form, although the home side did take the lead in the tenth minute when Robert Coronado scored from the spot. After that, though, the breaks all went the way of Independence, drawing level six minutes from half-time when Juan Carlos Obregon Jr and then going ahead through a penalty of their own in the 58th minute, Obregon Jr again on target. Luis Alvarez added a third ten minutes from time. Afterwards, Jones reckoned his side were the better team over ninety minutes but they'll need to start getting results to match those performances if they're to make a run at the play-offs.

The first of Saturday's two games saw Greenville Triumph visit Forward Madison, with over 3,300 fans in attendance at Breese Stevens Field. Triumph lead the USL-1 table and have been in good form all year, Rick Wright's accession to John Harkes's throne running very smoothly indeed. It was the home side who took the lead, though, Wolfgang Prentice finding the net in the first minute of play after clever play from Nazeem Bartman, but Triumph were level a minute from half-time, a penalty given for a foul by Michael Chilaka converted by Jamie Smith. Eight minutes into the second-half, veteran striker Leandro Castro put the visitors ahead but Madison were awarded a penalty of their own just three minutes later, duly converted by Christian Chaney to level the scores once more. The home side, with Chaney looking very dangerous, put Triumph under increasing pressure and when the fourth official signalled five minutes of stoppage time, there was only going to be one team that broke the deadlock. Two minutes into that added on time, Juan Galindrez curled the ball into the top right corner to give Madison all three points and extend their unbeaten run to five league games. The weekend's final game featured the other two USL-1 sides still in US Open Cup contention as Union Omaha hosted South Georgia Tormenta in front of over 3,000 at Werner Park. Both sides had good chances in the first few minutes of play but it was the home side's Nortei Nortey who notched first, his distance effort sliding under Tormenta 'keeper Ford Parker in the ninth minute. Three minutes later, Pedro Dolabella made it 2-0 from a corner and it looked like Omaha were cruising to another comfortable victory. In first-half stoppage time, however, Sebastian Vivas headed in from close range to bring the Ibises within a goal of drawing level, all to play for in the second-half. The chances continued for both sides after the break but Omaha made theirs count, extending their lead through Joe Gallardo and Missael Rodriguez before a late Pedro Fonseca penalty finished the scoring for a 4-2 home win amd ten points from four games for the Owls.

Three games took place in the third-tier NISA league over the weekend, led off by the visit of Club de Lyon to Silverbacks Parks in Atlanta on Friday, where Georgia FC awaited them. The home side have made a decent fist of life as an expansion club after a shaky start and went ahead in the sixth minute when full-back Kevin Herrera was put through by former Phoenix Rising man Lamin Jawneh. The visitors from Florida drew level twenty minutes later through Argentine veteran Juan Manuel Martinez, and he added a second to put the Lions ahead on the hour mark. Georgia looked to get back into the game but the wily old timers of CdL saw the game out, Ivan Arenas adding a third fifteen minutes from time for a 3-1 win. The first of Saturday's two games came from Romeo High School in suburban Detroit, where Michigan Stars and Maryland Bobcats met in a battle of two of the league's more established clubs. Stars had won their previous three league matches and secured a fourth win early, Bosnian striker Leon Maric scoring twice in the middle of the first-half to keep the stars flying high at the top of the Eastern Conference. Out West, Los Angeles Force welcomed Irvine Zeta to Memorial Stadium in Long Beach for another of the numerous LA derbies this season. Former Hartford Athletic striker Joel Quist opened the scoring for the hosts in the second minute, his first as an LA Force player, and that's how it stayed through the ninety, a 1-0 win for Force putting them top in the Western Conference.

There were plenty of games in MLS Next Pro over the weekend but only one that really matters from an independent club point of view. That saw Eastern Conference leaders Chattanooga FC open the gates of Finley Stadium for Orlando City B, knowing that a win would keep them there for another week. The Boys in Blue got off to a great start when Algerian striker Mehdi Ouamri got his second of the season, but the Lions got back in the game seven minutes from the break through Ghanaian midfielder Shakur Mohammed, who finished from close range after a cross by Yutaro Tsukuda. There were no further goals in the rest of the game which meant that penalties were called upon to separate the sides and it was Chattanooga who held their nerve to earn the two points, slotting home all five kicks after John Solis had missed early for City. Elsewhere, Los Angeles FC 2 went top of the Western Conference with a 3-2 win at Real Monarchs, and there's a three-way tie in the East between Chattanooga, Philadelphia Union II (who beat Huntsville City 2-0) and New York Red Bulls II (2-1 winners at Inter Miami II).