Lawrenceville, NJ - July 7th

The Central Jersey Spartans were attempting to win back to back games for the first time this season as they enterained in state rival the Jersey Express at Rider Universities Ben Cohen Field. The Spartans were missing Captain Matt Farrell from their match day squad for the first time this season meaning a defensive reshuffle was required.

The game started with a very slow tempo as both sides were settling into proceedings and attempting to figure out one another. Central Jersey adopted a 4-4-1-1 formation with the deep forward dropping off to stifle the Jersey Express play in midfield. As a result chances were at a premium and the Spartans looked very organized and defensively sound.

Spartans number 9 Claude Tahi almost broke the deadlock when he cut inside from a wide position and struck a shot towards the goal. The Jersey Express goalkeeper Rafael Diaz had to alert to make a very smart safe and keep the score at 0-0. The visitors took the lead just before half time as Express midfielder Ansger Otto found himself free in the middle from a good cross by Shawn Foster. It was a simple finish for Otto and gave Jersey a 1-0 lead heading into the break.

The second half saw the Central Jersey Spartans have more possession but they struggled to break through and create any clear cut chances. The only clear sight of goal was when Tahi found himself played through on goal but the assistant referee raised his offside flag in a very close decision. The game was over as a spectacle when in the 76th minute a defensive mix up by the Spartans resulted in a very unfortunate own goal. With the scoreline at 2-0 the Express held out comfortably as the Spartans had no answer and couldn’t find a way back into the game.

After the game Assistant Coach John Saunders said "we played a very technical and experienced team and unfortunately we lacked discipline at a crucial stage in the game. This made the task of coming from behind harder than it already was. We now need to regroup and clear our minds ready for a very tough game against the Brooklyn Knights".

The Central Jersey Spartans are next in action on Sunday June 10th with a 7pm kick off at Rider University against the Brooklyn Knights.

Central Jersey Spartans - D.Louisignau (GK), Tessler, Wiltse (Butcher), Makowski, Whalen, B.Wysocki, C.Wysocki (Asiamah), Christiansen (Iloka), J.Louisignau (McCormick), Tahi, Tychowski Subs Not Used - Blackburn (GK), Hand

Jersey Express - Diaz (GK), Foster, Niouky, N’Guessan, Lebo, Watson (Ovenseri), Salmon (Castellanos), Dacres (Himeno), Otto (Hines), Coulibaly, Malcolm (Karcz) Subs Not Used - Walsh (GK), Sadaoui

Twitter - @CJSpartansSC Facebook - "Central Jersey Spartans Soccer Club"