It was not a repeat of the two teams' last six-goal extravaganza in Miami as Palace Baltimore dropped another close game, 1-0, to Miami FC at the Maryland SoccerPlex thanks to a Brian Shriver 70th minute strike.
Miami came away with a well-deserved win as they poured forward taking 14 shots and forcing Bush into six saves.
Palace has struggled with teams at the bottom of the table all season. They have lost twice to both AC St. Louis and the Puerto Rico Islanders, and have only managed to get one point from Miami FC after tying 3-3 in Miami and then losing at home.
The Eagles have also been guilty of giving up early goals for much of the season and came close again in the first minute when Shaun Pejic was dispossessed after failing to see a ball over the end line. Fortunately, the resulting chance was fired wide from inside the 18 yard box.
In the sixth minute, Baltimore had another scare when Miami 'keeper, Caleb Patterson-Sewell's long restart found Christian Gomez alone down the middle. Evan Bush was off his line smartly and saved Gomez's attempt to lob him at the top of the 18 yard box with his chest. Baltimore failed to clear the rebound and a dangerous Paulo Jr. effort was deflected over the bar.
Palace put quality crosses in from the flanks but never really troubled the Miami goalmouth until midway through the first half when a Tsuyoshi Yoshitake cross found Gary Brooks' head inside the six yard box, where a relieved Patterson-Sewell watched it hit the base of his left hand post. A minute later it was Brooks again who looked to put Palace ahead, but his 25-yard blast sailed over the crossbar.
In the 29th minute, referee Sorin Stoica pointed to the spot after he judged that Brooks had been unfairly hauled down in the box by J.P. Rodrigues, only to change his decision after his assistant claimed that Brooks had handled the ball before he was fouled.
On 36 minutes, another official's decision denied Miami what looked to be the first goal of the game. After Abe Thompson chested the ball into the Baltimore net the referee's assistant judged him to be in an offside position. Two minutes later, Miami midfielder, Brian Shriver latched onto a good through ball only to snatch at the shot and put it high and wide.
Baltimore's next effort on goal came in the 40th minute when Palace captain, Neto uncorked a low drive from the top of the box only to see Patterson-Sewell get down and reel it in.
The second half was no different than the first. Five minutes into the restart, Brooks hit a low scorcher that Patterson-Sewell saved well. A minute later Randolph wasted a great chance on a cleverly-worked through ball that he fired just by the Baltimore far post
Miami broke the deadlock in the 70th minute with a goal that the Palace keeper will not want to watch again. A deep ball from Neto found the head of Shriver who put his effort back at net where Bush, who seemingly had it easily covered, failed to palm the ball away and Miami went up, 1-0.
Miami continued to pile on the pressure and looked like they had a perfect opportunity to put themselves two up on 75 minutes only to see the referee's assistant's flag go up for an offsides on Paulo Jr.
Baltimore could not come up with a response and failed to register a shot on goal after conceding. Their best chance was a glancing 87th minute Andrew Marshall header that ended up wide of the net after Brooks found him inside the box.
"After coming off a great performance against Montreal, we didn't move the ball very well," said Palace Baltimore Head Coach, Jim Cherneski. "Despite their (Miami's) record, they are a good team. They are a decent team and they were better than us today."
Baltimore heads to Montreal next Wednesday, August 11 to face the Impact at the Stade Saputo. Palace Baltimore fans can watch the game on the Palace Baltimore website or by logging onto live.palacebaltimore.com a few minutes before kick off.
Crystal Palace Baltimore: Bush, Veeder (Basso 87'), Marshall, Pejic, Flores, Yoshitake, Lader, Neto (Healey 76'), Nishimura (Fusilier 59'), Brooks (Teixeira 88'), Mark (Perez 46')
Subs not used: Herford
Miami FC: Neto, Rodrigues, Gbandi, Thompson, Gomez, Randolph (Cameron 51'), Goldberg (Dominguez 73'), Shriver, Lancaster, Araujo Jr (Jerome 84'), Patterson-Sewell
Subs not used: Santeliz, Dias, Parker
Attendance:
501
