Late Surge Not Enough for Silverbacks

The Atlanta Silverbacks fell to the Tampa Bay Rowdies 3-2 Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd of 5,000 fans at Atlanta Silverbacks Park.

The visiting Rowdies came out of the gate with a purpose on Saturday night, and it took just 12 minutes for them to push ahead. Rowdies forward Daniel Antoniuk, a former Silverbacks player, continued his strong run of form against his old team, putting his team in front 1-0. Antoniuk, who scored for the Rowdies on April 21 in Atlanta, settled down a lob pass from midfielder Shane Hill and poked a shot under the outstretched arms of Silverbacks goalkeeper Daniel Illyes.

The Silverbacks defense remained under duress as the first half continued with Illyes playing a big part in keeping the Rowdies off the scoreboard for a second time. The Hungarian goalkeeper did well to deny forward Matt Clare and Antoniuk from close range in the 18th and 30th minute respectively.

After Illyes again came up big to stop a shot from Hill, the Rowdies doubled their lead with another goal from Antoniuk. Midfielder Keith Savage was the provider this time, playing a ball over the top to Antoniuk, who slotted the ball into the side netting for a 2-0 lead.

It was a tale of two halves though as the Silverbacks began to fight back early in the second half. Forward Matt Horth was the first to test Rowdies goalkeeper Jeff Attinella, but it was substitute midfielder Shane Moroney that provided the Silverbacks with a spark in the 63rd minute. The Peachtree City native met a cross from defender Raphael Cox and headed the ball past Attinella to make the score 2-1.

The Silverbacks were playing with plenty of confidence following the goal, and three minutes later, league-leading scorer Reinaldo Navia nearly tied the game. The Chilean forward's blast was cleared off the line by a Rowdies defender, keeping the game at 2-1.

The Rowdies would add to their lead in the 79th minute when forward Mike Ambersley used some impressive footwork to weave through the Silverbacks defense and beat Illyes with a left-footed shot into the corner.

Despite being down two goals late in the game, the Silverbacks stayed strong and forced an interesting finish in the 88th minute. Moroney converted another header from a cross, this time a corner kick from midfielder Ciaran O'Brien, pulling a goal back for the Silverbacks and making it 3-2. The Rowdies would prevail in the end despite a valiant comeback effort from the home team.

The Silverbacks will make the short trip to Conyers on Tuesday night for their second-round matchup against NPSL side Georgia Revolution. Kickoff is at 7:30pm at RYSA Soccerplex, and the winner of the game will meet Seattle Sounders FC of MLS in the third round of the tournament.