Crystal Palace Baltimore rekindled their playoff hopes with a strong performance against table-topping Harrisburg at UMBC Stadium on Saturday.
Dan Lader scored twice for Baltimore while Brian Rowland and the back line held strong for their first shutout in seven league games.
After an even opening spell, Harrisburg were looking more likely to score, with Brandon Swartzendruber and Steve Fisher both causing problems in the box, but Shintaro Harada showed great authority leading the Palace rearguard and they absorbed the pressure.
On 24 minutes, a free--kick from Bryan Harkin was cleared initially by the City Islanders, but Andrew Marshall picked the ball up on the edge of the box, surged towards the byline and fired a low, penetrating cross through a crowd to Dan Lader at the far post and he prodded the ball home from just a couple of yards out to give Baltimore the lead.
Palace had one more good chance in the half - Kevin Gnatiko whipped a lovely cross over from the right wing but Jordan Seabrook's towering header just skipped past the far post with Chase Harrison scrambling in the Harrisburg net.
The second half saw Palace play possession football, frequently stringing dozens of consecutive passes together, pressuring hard whenever Harrisburg did have the ball.
Brian Rowland kept his team in the match on 55 minuntes with a remarkable save on a Brandon Swartzendruber breakaway effort. Healey came close at the other end soon after with a header off a Ryan Pierce cross that Harrison did well to stop. Healey then turned provider as he pulled off a cheeky back-heel to release Paul Robson, who fooled his marker in the box with a nice run-around move, but his cross didn't quite reach Seabrook lurking on the six yard line.
As the 70 minute mark approached, despite Palace's entertaining display of passing and possession, the City Islanders began forcing the issue in search of an equaliser.
Ty Shipalane and Nicki Paterson took speculative long-range shots that didn't trouble Rowland.
In the 75th minute, substitute Machel Millwood marched upfield from deep inside his own half, taking the ball all the way to the edge of the box before being felled by a Harrisburg defender. The free-kick though was wasted by Seabrook who sent it well over the bar.
There were nervous moments in the Palace box on 80 minutes after a scramble that saw two Harrisburg shots blocked at close range. Two minutes later Shipalane snaked his way through the Palace defence and fired off a rocket from the edge of the area but it whistled inches over the bar with Rowland at full stretch.
Just as the clock showed 90 minutes, Harrisburg had thrown everyone forward in search of the tying goal, leaving themselves open to the counter-attack. Palace took advantage after a Harrisburg attack broke down, with Bryan Harkin feeding Robson up the right wing, who in turn sent a perfectly weighted ball to Dan Lader sprinting up the middle and he calmly slotted home to make it 2-0, his second on the night, securing the victory.
Palace USA now head to Waldorf, Maryland, on Monday to play a friendly match against Crystal Palace. The game kicks off at 8:00pm at Regency Furniture Stadium and tickets are still available at $14 for adults, $12 for youth (12 and under), kids four and under get in free.
Baltimore returns to league action at 7:00pm on Saturday July 18th with a home clash against the Richmond Kickers. For a full Palace USA fixture list and table click here.
