June 6th 2012 - Lawrenceville, NJ

Spartans back to winning ways

The Central Jersey Spartans entertained the Long Island Rough Riders on Saturday evening at Rider University, Lawrenceville. On the back of two disappointing defeats the following weekend it was vital that the Spartans bounced back and returned to winning ways.

Unfortunately the Rough Riders only had 10 players available from their roster but you wouldn’t have known it with how the first half played out. The Spartans struggled to make their numerical advantage count and the Rough Riders lone striker Keith Detelj was causing the Central Jersey defenders problems with his work rate and quick feet. Spartans striker Claude Tahi had a number of shooting opportunities but he failed to test the goalkeeper and the half ended 0-0.

The second half continued in a similar vain although the Spartans began to control possession much more as the Rough Riders decided to drop back and play a more counter attacking game. Long Island were very content to stay organized and challenged the Spartans to break them down. Central Jersey struggled to find a breakthrough and changed their formation to push more players forward in search of the elusive goal.

Long Islands second half game plan seemed to have secured an unlikely point as the clock was running out. However, in the 93rd minute the Spartans were awarded a free kick 20 yards from the Rough Riders goal. The Central Jersey number 9 Claude Tahi stepped up and struck a powerful free kick into the top corner leaving the Long Island goalkeeper Alex Naples with little chance to make a save such was the venom of the strike. The goal sparked wild celebrations among the Spartans players, staff and fans and a valuable three points was assured.

Spartans Head Coach John Newman said after the game "we didn’t do ourselves justice throughout the game and never really reached the high standards we have set out prior to the season. The longer the game went on the more the result became the most important thing and thankfully we got the three points with a terrific strike from Claude. We certainly need to be better on Wednesday because Jersey Express will cause us problems if we play with the same tempo as we did tonight".

The Central Jersey Spartans return to action this Wednesday June 6th with a Garden State rivalry game against JERSEY EXPRESS. The game takes place at Rider University with a 8pm kick off. We have tremendous ticket offers for this game with the regular prices being slashed for all children attending. Any child can watch the game for FREE and adults can attend for just $5. For more information email info@cjspartans.com

Central Jersey Spartans - D Louisignau (GK), Wiltse (Christiansen), Makowski, Farrell, Whalen, Tychowski (Iloka), Ockford, B Wysocki, Asiamah(C Wysocki), Tahi, McCormick (Butcher) Subs Not Used - Hand (GK), Fields

Long Island Rough Riders - Naples (GK), Wharf, Weinzimer, Garcia, Flood, Falcones, Barnathan, Arikian, Detelj, Megaloudis