ACFC douse the Devils 5-2 in spirited win

Despite an early goal mishap and an apparently undermanned ACFC side, Angel City came out with an inspired performance on the backs of a huge midfield presence from Ben Kull and Brandon Cole to take three necessary points from The Devils in Monday night's 5-2 match.

An errant side flick resulted in an early goal nine minutes in for the Devils, but ACFC struck back less than a minute later off a solo run from Brandon Cole (one of the game's two MVPs). Angel City then settled into a one-touch passing flow creating numerous chances. Midfielders Ben Kull (the second MVP on the night) and David Woirhaye also helped the ACFC defensive effort with strong back-checking. The squad started the match with 10 players and weren't up to full strength until 15 minutes in with the arrival of Michael Sharp.

Woirhaye put the side up 2-1 at the 33-minute mark after getting a pass from Kull and then wending his way through several defenders before striking the ball home past a sprawling keeper.

Sharp added a third two minutes later, combining with Luis Deveze. But The Devils struck back on 36 minutes against the run of play off a poorly defended corner kick.

To say the officiating was lop-sided would be an understatement. At some points in the later stages of the first half one wondered if the squad had shown up for an international diving meet, replete with painful screams where often little or no body contact was involved. Numerous free kicks were awarded outside the City box, but the Devils could not convert despite the helping hand. One FK did hit the back meshing, but was taken before the ref's whistle was blown (The Devils had requested the ACFC wall be moved back 10 yards beforehand). Amusingly, the kicker celebrated the non goal for at least a minute before reality set in.

By the second half Angel City had hit its stride, dominating play and shutting down The Devils offense with solid defence from the back line and keeper Dave Styles.

Peter Wasek, who was moved up to the midfield, earned his first goal of the season at the 64-minute mark, knocking in a pass from Deveze. And Deveze capped the win with a breakaway goal off a pass through by Sharp on 82 minutes.

The squad could have knocked in several other goals which were cleared by a besieged keeper and several defenders at the last minute.

ACFC remains in third place with 24 points (8 wins, 4 losses) behind Hollywood United and the Spurs, who played one another Monday night as well (waiting on result). Following next week's bye, Angel City face the Spurs.

After talking the the league, it appears unlikely that the rematch against Atletico Espanol -- originally canceled due to poor air quality as a result of local forest fires -- will be played. A win and a strong run of goals are a must against the Spurs, consequently, as second place will likely be decided on goal differential. Only the top two qualify for the inter-divisional playoffs right away, though there will also be two wildcard spots given to the top two finishing third place teams from Div A, B and C.


GAME STATS

ACFC (5) vs The Devils(2)

Goals:
ACFC: (Brandon Cole, 9:00; David Woirhaye, 33:00; Michael Sharp, 35:00;
Peter Wasek, 64:00; Luis Deveze, 82:00)
The Devils: (9:00; 36:00)

Corner Kicks:
ACFC (2) vs The Devils (6)

Shots:
ACFC (6) vs The Devils (7)

Yellow Cards:
ACFC (4) vs The Devils (2)

Red Cards:
ACFC (0) vs The Devils (0)