Crystal Palace Baltimore 1 - 3 NSC Minnesotat Stars
Two second half goals proved to be decisive as Crystal Palace Baltimore slipped to their seventh defeat of the season as they lost 3-1 to the NSC Minnesota Stars.
Just over a quarter of an hour of the game had passed when Minnesota opened the proceedings through Warren Ukah. The skill-full player jinked his way past four Baltimore defenders before finishing from nine yards into the corner.
The gap between the two sides could have been greater before the break if not for Evan Bush's efforts in the the Baltimore goal as he stopped two Ukah and Geison from finding the net just minutes after the opener.
With temperatures hovering in the 90s, Baltimore head coach Jim Cherneski was forced to make three substitutions with just over half hour of the game having been played. Dan Lader, Paul Robson and Gary Brooks all replaced Lucio, Stephen Basso and Santiago Fuller, but were unable to affect the score as the American Eagles went in one down at the break.
As the referee blew his whistle for the second half it was Cherneski's team who started the brightest and were rewarded for their attacking threat on the 50th minute when they won a free kick 25 yards from goal. Tsuyoshi Yoshitake stepped up to the plate and curled the ball into the top right corner to make it a goal a piece.
Seven minutes later Melvin Tarley had to be replaced by Brian Cvilikas after a clash of heads with Palace striker Gary Brooks left him battered and bloodied. The substitution would prove to pay dividends on the 65th minute for Minnesota when a shot by Geison Moura found its way back to Cvilikas who exquisitely looped the ball over Bush and into an empty net.
Despite pushing on at every opportunity the three points were secured by the Stars was confirmed on the 81st minute. A corner from Daniel Wasson took a deflection off of Andres Arango, leaving Bush with no chance to make a save.
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