F.C. Revolution

Matt Gardner
June 14, 2010—3:30 p.m. EST

READING, Pa.—Despite a strong fightback in the final ten minutes for the New Jersey Blaze, they were unable to turn over a deficit of three goals to secure the draw they desperately wanted, resulting in a 4-3 loss for the visitors at Shirk Stadium in Reading, Pa.

The 19-year-old forward Gibrilla Conde proved to be the difference between the teams on Saturday, scoring three of the team’s four goals and giving FC Revolution (1-4-0) their first win of the season, making his first mark in the opening minute of the game for good measure.

Straight after kick-off, Conde was on his own sheltering the ball from the Blaze defence, but he managed to break away and curl a 25-yard shot just inside the right post, giving the resurgent Revolution their first game lead as well as their second goal of the season. As things went quiet in the Revolution’s attacking third for a little while, the Blaze managed to tie the game after Robert Campos took a pass in the centre following tricks from Ansger Otto, though the Rutgers-Newark forward had to shake off the defender before firing past keeper Rich Kessler into the back of the net after 32 minutes.

The Blaze would again be put on the back foot before the half. Muhlenberg’s Pete Rowley was awarded a penalty after he was judged to have been tripped when moving past Samuel Bryant inside the box, and he did not waste the opportunity.

“We started through self-inflicted wounds and it was tough to battle back, particularly with them getting the goal on half-time too,” said Rob Napier, Blaze head coach. “We spoke a lot about getting a positive start and the first goal, and it didn’t work out as hoped.”

Conde was back on the radar when the second half kicked off, with the striker making his mark twice in the first quarter of an hour of the next period. He first took advantage of confusion from the Blaze back four, as a breakdown in communication allowed Conde to chase the ball down and beat Blaze goalie Kevin Davis, who could not contain the shot despite using his physical presence to force an error. Conde slipped around the keeper and slotted in the goal after 51 minutes.

Five minutes later, Conde would finally secure the hat trick that underlined the speed of the player. This time, however, Davis would get a hand to the ball, but the charging figure of Conde was able to latch onto the rebound and place it in the back of the net to leave the visitors stunned.

Despite this, the Revolution let go of the game towards the end, providing the Blaze with some hope that they could make up for their past mistakes. “We went very close to tying it up at 4-4. If we take away the unforced errors, it could’ve been different,” Napier continued.

Campos was able to grab a seeming consolation goal six minutes from time, but a great header from captain and South Brunswick local Coron Short put the game within a one goal margin and nearly led to a draw, as the Blaze threw bodies into the box before the final whistle.

Speaking to the Reading Eagle, Revolution coach Mike Moyer was happy with the result and asserted that the final score was fair. “We deserved the win,” he explained. “[Getting the first goal] does a lot, because we've never had that this year yet.

“Gibrilla's been waiting to break out of his little shell he's been in the first four games. He's a terrific player with pro potential.”

Meanwhile, hat-trick star Conde was happy to talk about his triumph with the newspaper. “Anytime I'm one-on-one I try to take them and try to get to that goal,” he said. “I wasn't thinking about (the hat trick). I just wanted the win. It feels great.”

“You could say that we deserved a point through what we showed at the end of the game, but we gave ourselves a mountain to climb,” Napier concluded.

The New Jersey Blaze are the central New Jersey members of the National Premier Soccer League, the highest level of men’s amateur soccer in the United States. They are part of the New Jersey Soccer Group, a management company for a family of soccer based organizations offering a full range of soccer services in New Jersey.