On January 4, the NPSL announced that the Atlanta Silverbacks had rebranded as Atlanta SC. After years of conflict with Boris Jerkunica, the owner of Silverbacks Park, Phoday Dolleh decided that rebranding and playing games elsewhere was the best option for the club going forward.
While the club is expected the retain Head Coach Roberto Neves, and the majority of last season's roster; the name, the logo, and the colors have all changed. The new logo, featuring a peach, and a soccer ball, has received mixed reviews at best on Social Media but Phoday said he decided to go with the peach because it is "a symbol of Georgia."
The Non-League America Twitter account tweeted a couple of extra details about why the rebrand came about and what it means for the club going forward. The series of tweets said the Silverbacks had the highest costs in the NPSL between licensing the name and playing at Silverbacks Park, and Boris wouldn't allow them to use the name at any other stadium. The thread also included confirmation that the Silverbacks as a team name is now dormant and that the title will only be applied to the park.
Many people suspected that a rebrand would happen eventually due to Boris' unwillingness to work with the team, but the news still came as a shock to Silverbacks fans. Westside 109 Tweeted after news broke that they were "still internally processing the big news" but were also "glad there's a team this year."
The venue the team will play in next year is still to be determined, but there has been speculation that it will most likely be somewhere in Alpharetta.
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Saturday, August 25, 2018
Video: Keka Scores Fantastic Goal in NCAA D1 Debut
After winning Player of the Year at the Junior College level, Mohammed "Keka" Kemara transferred to UCLA and played in his first game last night against Coastal Carolina, which ironically, is the school that fellow Silverback DZ Harmon now attends.
The UCLA Bruins went on to get the best of the Chanticleers winning 4-0 with one of the goals being scored by Keka when he amazingly chipped the keeper.
Keka joins a UCLA team that suffered a down year in 2017 with a record of 7-10-1, missing the NCAA Tournament in which they usually qualify for, and win one or two games in a typical season. The Pac 12 is a very competitive conference for Soccer with Stanford being a national powerhouse that has won the last three consecutive National Championships, as well as California, and Washington who regularly make the NCAA tournament. Keka will have his work cut out for him in a tough soccer conference but if this first game is any indication on how his season will go, his team will be very competitive, and he will have plenty of chances to impress professional scouts.
The UCLA Bruins went on to get the best of the Chanticleers winning 4-0 with one of the goals being scored by Keka when he amazingly chipped the keeper.
Silverbacks General Manager Phoday Dolleh shared the video on his Twitter account, while also adding "they said D1 will be too hard for (Keka), I said he is special. Watch my word America."👀 at this goal from Mohammed Kamara!— UCLA Men's Soccer (@UCLAMSoccer) August 25, 2018
Is this #SCTop10 worthy? We think so! #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/sulIi3WDDp
Keka joins a UCLA team that suffered a down year in 2017 with a record of 7-10-1, missing the NCAA Tournament in which they usually qualify for, and win one or two games in a typical season. The Pac 12 is a very competitive conference for Soccer with Stanford being a national powerhouse that has won the last three consecutive National Championships, as well as California, and Washington who regularly make the NCAA tournament. Keka will have his work cut out for him in a tough soccer conference but if this first game is any indication on how his season will go, his team will be very competitive, and he will have plenty of chances to impress professional scouts.
Friday, August 24, 2018
Tales From The Road: Say It Ain't So, I Will Not Go (Greenville)
In this second edition of "Tales From The Road" I'll recall the best I can, my trip to Greenville, South Carolina, to see the Silverbacks take on Greenville FC. As a city, I have a huge soft spot for Greenville, and it's a place I could see myself moving to after College if I don't end up staying in Atlanta. The extent of my love for Greenville is to the point where my friends are concerned. Personally, I think they overreact because it's not like I can't just drive the 2.5 hours on Saturdays to watch the Silverbacks with them if it does indeed happen. The moral of this story is that there might be a little bit of bias in this post, but I don't see it as a negative one.
Our story begins at roughly 1pm in Dunwoody, as the same road trip partner from my trip to Asheville is stuck at his side job, I find myself hungry and in need something to do while I wait for him to get off. I decided to eat at the Burger King around the corner from his Complex. Keep in mind I hadn't eaten at Burger King I have no idea how long so I wasn't sure what to expect. Nothing could have prepared me for what might be the best deal I've ever seen: 10 Chicken Nuggets for $2. Sure Burger King's Chicken Nuggets ( and the rest of their food in general) isn't the best but it was still a fantastic deal, and it meant that I would have more Beer Money in Greenville.
We had an extra friend join us for the car ride to Greenville, and somehow, I ended up sitting in the back seat, but once again I was in charge of the playlist, so not all was lost. Unfortunately, my playlist making skills would later be replaced by my trusty pilot getting a Sirius XM subscription, but it was fun while it lasted.
We arrived in Greenville at the Campus of Furman University at roughly 4:30 in the afternoon if I recall correctly. Furman is a litttle bit further north of Downtown Greenville so there was no shopping or eating to be done, but that didn't matter we found a good tailgating spot near Furman's Football stadium, isolated away from the rest of the event-goers, and then proceeded to have our beers and kick the ball around under the shade of a tree.
This was how the majority of our pregame was spent, and then it came time to go into the stadium. There were two elderly ladies taking tickets at the game, and when it became my turn to go in, Uptown Funk was playing over the PA system and they were jamming away while taking tickets, which I thought was pretty cool. I decided to walk around the stadium and I saw two things I wasn't expecting: A King Of Pops vendor, and someone wearing the jersey of my favorite Bundesliga team, Schalke.
After I got my popsicle and awkwardly complimented a stranger on his Schalke jersey, I went back to join my friends and see what other Silverbacks fans had spotted us and were prepared to join us.
If memory serves me right, there were close to 10 Silverbacks fans that made the trip. One of which attended East Carolina University in Greenville, NORTH Carolina, a place which he has very fond memories of, more so than the South Carolina version at least. I must say I got a real big kick out of him screaming "THIS IS NOT THE REAL GREENVILLE " at the top of his lungs on one or two occasions during the game.
Security at this game was pretty relaxed, to the point where they let some fans stand on the ledges of the walls separating the stands and the playing field. I didn't have much faith in me being able to keep my balance so I tried to stay off of it, but those with better balance seemed to be having the times of their lives.
The game itself ended as a 1-1 draw. The Silverbacks failed to convert an early Penalty kick opportunity but would manage to put one in just a few minutes later. Greenville would then equalize, and the game would end as a draw, but not without a few fireworks. Late in the game, there was a skirmish on the side of the field furthest from where I was standing that nearly emptied the benches. In the end, Ebrima Njie was shown a red card, and to this day I'm not entirely sure what really happened. Someone asked Njie after the game what happened with the red card and he only shook his head and laughed.
So after the game, there was still one more thing to do, find a bar to watched Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, in which my Washington Capitals were playing in. The closest place was The Pumphouse Grill. It also happened to be karaoke night at The Pumphouse, with most of the patrons opting to cover Country songs, and I figured "hey I'm just here to get some food and watch Hockey with my friends. I can tune this out." The Capitals were well in control of the game and the Buffalo Chicken Sub I ordered was very satisfying, but eventually, it got to the point where I was dying for variety in music, so I decided to take matters into my own hands.
I decided to channel my inner-Tom Delonge. When I say that I don't mean I tried to chase aliens and UFOs, I'm saying I chose to sing All The Small Things by Blink-182, As I'm singing the chorus of the song I happen to look over at my road trip partners who are sitting at our table reasonably close to the stage, both taking videos of me and cheering me on. It was at that moment I realized just how great of a trip this was. Yes our team had tied a game they probably should have won, and the heat was absolutely terrible that day. But here we were in a bar where we undoubtedly stuck out like sore thumbs having the time of our lives.
After the Capitals won the Hockey game, we decided to head home, but not without a stop at 7-11 so I could get my Slurpee fix. I would like to end the story there, but I feel like I have to point the very next day that I ended up having a Pool Party with a few friends, and I said that I wouldn't mind moving to Greenville after college and one friend's response was "Taylor! We were literally just in Greenville yesterday. Should I have just left you there?" To which I paused for a second, and then replied with "yes."
So there you have it. Now you know how much I love Greenville, how enthusiastic I am about Karaoke, and how good I am at making the most of a disappointing result. Stay tuned for my next post where I will talk about my trip to Nashville. I don't want to give too much away because then you wouldn't read it, but it was definitely the best trip of the summer.
Our story begins at roughly 1pm in Dunwoody, as the same road trip partner from my trip to Asheville is stuck at his side job, I find myself hungry and in need something to do while I wait for him to get off. I decided to eat at the Burger King around the corner from his Complex. Keep in mind I hadn't eaten at Burger King I have no idea how long so I wasn't sure what to expect. Nothing could have prepared me for what might be the best deal I've ever seen: 10 Chicken Nuggets for $2. Sure Burger King's Chicken Nuggets ( and the rest of their food in general) isn't the best but it was still a fantastic deal, and it meant that I would have more Beer Money in Greenville.
We had an extra friend join us for the car ride to Greenville, and somehow, I ended up sitting in the back seat, but once again I was in charge of the playlist, so not all was lost. Unfortunately, my playlist making skills would later be replaced by my trusty pilot getting a Sirius XM subscription, but it was fun while it lasted.
We arrived in Greenville at the Campus of Furman University at roughly 4:30 in the afternoon if I recall correctly. Furman is a litttle bit further north of Downtown Greenville so there was no shopping or eating to be done, but that didn't matter we found a good tailgating spot near Furman's Football stadium, isolated away from the rest of the event-goers, and then proceeded to have our beers and kick the ball around under the shade of a tree.
This was how the majority of our pregame was spent, and then it came time to go into the stadium. There were two elderly ladies taking tickets at the game, and when it became my turn to go in, Uptown Funk was playing over the PA system and they were jamming away while taking tickets, which I thought was pretty cool. I decided to walk around the stadium and I saw two things I wasn't expecting: A King Of Pops vendor, and someone wearing the jersey of my favorite Bundesliga team, Schalke.
After I got my popsicle and awkwardly complimented a stranger on his Schalke jersey, I went back to join my friends and see what other Silverbacks fans had spotted us and were prepared to join us.
If memory serves me right, there were close to 10 Silverbacks fans that made the trip. One of which attended East Carolina University in Greenville, NORTH Carolina, a place which he has very fond memories of, more so than the South Carolina version at least. I must say I got a real big kick out of him screaming "THIS IS NOT THE REAL GREENVILLE " at the top of his lungs on one or two occasions during the game.
Security at this game was pretty relaxed, to the point where they let some fans stand on the ledges of the walls separating the stands and the playing field. I didn't have much faith in me being able to keep my balance so I tried to stay off of it, but those with better balance seemed to be having the times of their lives.
The game itself ended as a 1-1 draw. The Silverbacks failed to convert an early Penalty kick opportunity but would manage to put one in just a few minutes later. Greenville would then equalize, and the game would end as a draw, but not without a few fireworks. Late in the game, there was a skirmish on the side of the field furthest from where I was standing that nearly emptied the benches. In the end, Ebrima Njie was shown a red card, and to this day I'm not entirely sure what really happened. Someone asked Njie after the game what happened with the red card and he only shook his head and laughed.
So after the game, there was still one more thing to do, find a bar to watched Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, in which my Washington Capitals were playing in. The closest place was The Pumphouse Grill. It also happened to be karaoke night at The Pumphouse, with most of the patrons opting to cover Country songs, and I figured "hey I'm just here to get some food and watch Hockey with my friends. I can tune this out." The Capitals were well in control of the game and the Buffalo Chicken Sub I ordered was very satisfying, but eventually, it got to the point where I was dying for variety in music, so I decided to take matters into my own hands.
I decided to channel my inner-Tom Delonge. When I say that I don't mean I tried to chase aliens and UFOs, I'm saying I chose to sing All The Small Things by Blink-182, As I'm singing the chorus of the song I happen to look over at my road trip partners who are sitting at our table reasonably close to the stage, both taking videos of me and cheering me on. It was at that moment I realized just how great of a trip this was. Yes our team had tied a game they probably should have won, and the heat was absolutely terrible that day. But here we were in a bar where we undoubtedly stuck out like sore thumbs having the time of our lives.
After the Capitals won the Hockey game, we decided to head home, but not without a stop at 7-11 so I could get my Slurpee fix. I would like to end the story there, but I feel like I have to point the very next day that I ended up having a Pool Party with a few friends, and I said that I wouldn't mind moving to Greenville after college and one friend's response was "Taylor! We were literally just in Greenville yesterday. Should I have just left you there?" To which I paused for a second, and then replied with "yes."
So there you have it. Now you know how much I love Greenville, how enthusiastic I am about Karaoke, and how good I am at making the most of a disappointing result. Stay tuned for my next post where I will talk about my trip to Nashville. I don't want to give too much away because then you wouldn't read it, but it was definitely the best trip of the summer.
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Tales From The Road: The Magical Mountain Tour (Asheville Away)
As another Silverbacks season has come and gone, I feel like it's important to reflect on all of the good times that were had while the season was going on, and boy did I have some good times. Whether it be at Silverbacks Park, Tara Stadium in Jonesboro, Blessed Trinity High School in Roswell, Asheville, Greenville, Nashville (too many "villes"), and at the end Chattanooga; it was so much more than just driving to the game, watching the game, and driving home from the game. I like to think I have enough stories from this season to last me a lifetime, especially from the road trips. I feel like I could make a whole series of posts about my road trips, which is EXACTLY what I'm doing. Hopefully, it'll help make up for how many chances I missed to write articles because I was neck deep in homework after all of my weekends away.
Seeing as how I missed the trip to Knoxville to see the Silverbacks play Emerald Force, this series will begin on a rainy Saturday in Asheville.
After one particular friend I agreed to carpool together for this trip, it came down to the next order of business, constructing a playlist for the ride. The main thing I tried to avoid doing was making it too Pop Punk heavy because I had a reputation to uphold as someone who puts a lot of variety into road trip playlists. I did a good job of this... until about 3 hours before we were set to leave when I added roughly 20 additional Blink-182 songs, to the 3 preexisting songs on the playlist. Not that it mattered in the long run because I had so many songs on a playlist for a relatively short drive so we went a long time without hearing any of those impulse songs
With a full tank of gas in his car and my still decent playlist playing on his stereo, we were on our way. Once you get out of Georgia the typical route from Atlanta to Asheville is pretty scenic. Both years I've gone it ended being a mix of Interstates, State Routes, and Backways as well. The best part is when you get closer to Asheville and the mountains are suddenly in the distance. We made good time throughout the ride and made it before all but one of the other Silverbacks fans we met up with.
When you get to downtown Asheville you will have no trouble finding cool little gift shops, amazing dogs being walked on every sidewalk, breweries in abundance, as well as hipsters doing hipster things, but a parking spot? That's far more challenging to find in Asheville and may involve a couple of trips around the block. When you do find a spot, however, you can walk pretty much anywhere you want in the area. For my friends and I, that was a place called Burial Brewing Company. Burial was where my friends and I hung out before attending the game last year and it left a good impression on us so we decided to return. The main attraction at Burial, apart from the beer, of course, is the fact that their door handle is shaped like the Grim Reaper's scythe, which unfortunately it took me a whole year to figure that out, but better late than never.
Memorial Stadium itself is just uphill from McCormick Field where Minor League Baseball's Asheville Tourists play. It's a multi-use facility so, in addition to Soccer Goals, there are also Football Goalposts. The thing I like the best about the venue it personally is how good the view of the mountains is. What can I say? I have an infatuation with mountains.
The game itself was pretty much gut punch after gut punch because in addition to the Silverbacks losing 3-1, I found out that 3 of Asheville's players were also players from my school, Georgia State University. I hadn't had much time to look up Asheville's roster but I heard the PA announcers mention them by name and I had to do a double take. Sure enough, it was the same people I had watched pretty much every week of College Soccer season. When the reality finally sunk it, I couldn't resist the urge to jokingly yell "you're playing for the wrong team! You go to school in Atlanta" at them. I don't know if they could actually hear me say it but I did get to talk to one after the game. He said he did recognize me, but for some reason, he wanted to say my name was Robert, as opposed to Taylor. Little did I know, next time I talked to him it would be after the game at Silverbacks Park the very next week, and I had to ask him what was going through his mind when he showed Westside 109 his underwear after one of his teammates scored a goal.
One moment that probably sticks out for me more than anything else that happened on this trip was after the full-time whistle. The PA system in Asheville started playing "Come On Eileen" and one of my friends spontaneously changed the lyrics to "Come On You Backs" and we all loved it so we joined in, and it has since become a tradition that we sing it everytime we're either on our way to or from an away game.
After the game, there was the task of getting home, which was one-half walking back to the car in pouring rain and trying to say all of our goodbyes, as well as one-half driving. My carpooling buddy decided a few days in advance that he didn't want to go all the way back so he suggesting spending the night with some people he knew in South Carolina, relatively halfway between Asheville and Atlanta, which I was totally fine with.
Remember when I said my friend had a full tank of gas in the beginning? Well by this point we did need to stop so we found this gas station, and for the life of me I can't remember the gas station, but it turned out to be the best one I had ever been to. It had been a while since I had eaten so I grabbed a LOT of snacks. The kind of snacks that would cost me somewhere near $12 the gas station nearest to my house, but my some sort of miracle it only cost me half that at this magical South Carolina gas station, which is what I will forever know it as because I can't remember the name.
So that was my adventure to Asheville to watch the Silverbacks. As good of a trip as it was, it was probably the trip that was the least memorable. Perhaps I was still just getting into the swing of things, perhaps I've forgotten about one or two other things that happened (I'm sure one of my friends will tell my right away if that is indeed the case), or maybe Asheville just didn't have as much to offer as the other places I visited did.
In the next part of this new "Tales From The Road" series, I will be telling you all about my trip to Greenville. Stay tuned for more reading about the adventures of a lower division Soccer traveler.
Seeing as how I missed the trip to Knoxville to see the Silverbacks play Emerald Force, this series will begin on a rainy Saturday in Asheville.
After one particular friend I agreed to carpool together for this trip, it came down to the next order of business, constructing a playlist for the ride. The main thing I tried to avoid doing was making it too Pop Punk heavy because I had a reputation to uphold as someone who puts a lot of variety into road trip playlists. I did a good job of this... until about 3 hours before we were set to leave when I added roughly 20 additional Blink-182 songs, to the 3 preexisting songs on the playlist. Not that it mattered in the long run because I had so many songs on a playlist for a relatively short drive so we went a long time without hearing any of those impulse songs
With a full tank of gas in his car and my still decent playlist playing on his stereo, we were on our way. Once you get out of Georgia the typical route from Atlanta to Asheville is pretty scenic. Both years I've gone it ended being a mix of Interstates, State Routes, and Backways as well. The best part is when you get closer to Asheville and the mountains are suddenly in the distance. We made good time throughout the ride and made it before all but one of the other Silverbacks fans we met up with.
When you get to downtown Asheville you will have no trouble finding cool little gift shops, amazing dogs being walked on every sidewalk, breweries in abundance, as well as hipsters doing hipster things, but a parking spot? That's far more challenging to find in Asheville and may involve a couple of trips around the block. When you do find a spot, however, you can walk pretty much anywhere you want in the area. For my friends and I, that was a place called Burial Brewing Company. Burial was where my friends and I hung out before attending the game last year and it left a good impression on us so we decided to return. The main attraction at Burial, apart from the beer, of course, is the fact that their door handle is shaped like the Grim Reaper's scythe, which unfortunately it took me a whole year to figure that out, but better late than never.
Memorial Stadium itself is just uphill from McCormick Field where Minor League Baseball's Asheville Tourists play. It's a multi-use facility so, in addition to Soccer Goals, there are also Football Goalposts. The thing I like the best about the venue it personally is how good the view of the mountains is. What can I say? I have an infatuation with mountains.
The game itself was pretty much gut punch after gut punch because in addition to the Silverbacks losing 3-1, I found out that 3 of Asheville's players were also players from my school, Georgia State University. I hadn't had much time to look up Asheville's roster but I heard the PA announcers mention them by name and I had to do a double take. Sure enough, it was the same people I had watched pretty much every week of College Soccer season. When the reality finally sunk it, I couldn't resist the urge to jokingly yell "you're playing for the wrong team! You go to school in Atlanta" at them. I don't know if they could actually hear me say it but I did get to talk to one after the game. He said he did recognize me, but for some reason, he wanted to say my name was Robert, as opposed to Taylor. Little did I know, next time I talked to him it would be after the game at Silverbacks Park the very next week, and I had to ask him what was going through his mind when he showed Westside 109 his underwear after one of his teammates scored a goal.
One moment that probably sticks out for me more than anything else that happened on this trip was after the full-time whistle. The PA system in Asheville started playing "Come On Eileen" and one of my friends spontaneously changed the lyrics to "Come On You Backs" and we all loved it so we joined in, and it has since become a tradition that we sing it everytime we're either on our way to or from an away game.
After the game, there was the task of getting home, which was one-half walking back to the car in pouring rain and trying to say all of our goodbyes, as well as one-half driving. My carpooling buddy decided a few days in advance that he didn't want to go all the way back so he suggesting spending the night with some people he knew in South Carolina, relatively halfway between Asheville and Atlanta, which I was totally fine with.
Remember when I said my friend had a full tank of gas in the beginning? Well by this point we did need to stop so we found this gas station, and for the life of me I can't remember the gas station, but it turned out to be the best one I had ever been to. It had been a while since I had eaten so I grabbed a LOT of snacks. The kind of snacks that would cost me somewhere near $12 the gas station nearest to my house, but my some sort of miracle it only cost me half that at this magical South Carolina gas station, which is what I will forever know it as because I can't remember the name.
So that was my adventure to Asheville to watch the Silverbacks. As good of a trip as it was, it was probably the trip that was the least memorable. Perhaps I was still just getting into the swing of things, perhaps I've forgotten about one or two other things that happened (I'm sure one of my friends will tell my right away if that is indeed the case), or maybe Asheville just didn't have as much to offer as the other places I visited did.
In the next part of this new "Tales From The Road" series, I will be telling you all about my trip to Greenville. Stay tuned for more reading about the adventures of a lower division Soccer traveler.
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
A Dejecting Draw And A Boneheaded Boris Decision
Before we begin our regularly scheduled blog post, I would just like to take a moment to say that sometimes the hardest part of doing this blog is having to even think about what went wrong after travelling to an away game and having vast amounts of fun even if the result wasn't a win, but I suppose it comes with the territory. The Atlanta Silverbacks shared honors with Greenville FC in a game that ended 1-1 on Saturday at the campus of Furman University.
The Silverbacks had a chance to take the lead early when they were awarded a penalty, but Keka was unable to convert as his shot was saved by Greenville's Paul Tyson. The Silverbacks would later take the lead through a Sherriff Suma goal in the 34th minute, so not all was lost.
The Silverbacks were able to hold onto the lead until the 71st minute when Greenville's Quinn McNeill scored from about 20 yards out to equalize the score. The game would end that way but not without some controversy. In the 89th minute a small altercation started after what appeared to be a dispute about a Greenville playing staying down on the ground, a Silverbacks player yelling at them to get up, goalkeeper Paul Tyson shoving said Silverbacks player, and then it further escalating to the point where the Greenville bench players all stood up and nearly ran onto the field.
Take that description with a grain of salt because I was on the complete other side of the field so maybe someone who was closer to where the skirmish occurred might have seen it differently. But that's my recollection of it.
In the end, only the Silverbacks' Ebrima Njie was dismissed from the game.
Ultimately, the Silverbacks missed too many opportunities to increase their lead, and then after Greenville equalized they had a lot of the better chances in the dying minutes up until that dust-up mentioned above which more than likely killed any chance of either team scoring another goal.
Next up for the Silverbacks is another game against Georgia Revolution on Wednesday June 6, this time at Silverbacks Park. Unfortunately it was announced recently that the kickoff time from this game would be changed from 7 pm to 5 pm, much to the annoyance of many Silverbacks fans.
According to a source, a scheduling conflict between Boris and the team first arose a few weeks prior. The initial proposed solution was to change the date of the game to July 8 so they could appease Boris and still play at 7pm. Unfortunately the date changed also needed to be approved by the Revolution ,and the NPSL themselves. One of which appeared to not approve of this change.
A popular talking point in situations that involve kickoff times being changed because Boris refuses to help the team, is the fact that there are many other possible venues that the Silverbacks could move their game to in such events. It is possible that Phoday was in discussion with other sites, but nothing came to fruition so playing the game at 5 pm was the only option that remained, despite the disappointment of everyone except Boris.
As far as the Revs themselves go, they were in New Orleans this past weekend where they were handed a 3-1 loss at the hands of the Jesters, with Isaac Promise scoring their lone goal. The Revolution continue to fall further down the standings. In first place just a week ago, they are now in 6th place only ahead of Greenville, and Emerald Force.
The Silverbacks currently sit 5th in the standings, which makes them safe in the playoff race, but it could jeopardize their chances of hosting a playoff game. With this in mind, it seems bragging rights aren't the only thing at stake. If you can find a way to make it Silverbacks Park despite the inconvenient kickoff time, it would be worth your time because this game is bound to be interesting.
Friday, June 1, 2018
Silverbacks Look Strong Against "Rejuvenated" Revs
On a humid Wednesday night in McDonough, Georgia, Silverbacks fans from all sides of Metro Atlanta were treated to a dominant 5-0 win by their team over local rivals Georgia Revolution.
Henry County High School is the third home for the Revolution in as many seasons. Regardless of where the games are played they have still been unable to beat the Silverbacks. This season's squad looked stronger on paper, and has already improved from last season by winning a game, yet they were unable to have any success against the Silverbacks that night.
With Theo Blachon in net, and a starting backline of Manuel Moreno, Abdul Bangura, Mo Issahaku, and Ryan Marcano the Silverbacks defense thwarted every Revs attack, the few times they managed to get past the holding midfield pair of Lansana and Oliveira, that is.
The Silverbacks struck first very early in the match when a long ball was controlled very well by Keka, who passed to Joao, who passed to Suma, who passed back to Joao who provided a clinical finish in only the 6th minute.
It wouldn't be the only goal that Silverbacks captain Sherriff Suma would record an assist for as he would later deliver a free kick that met the head of Keka only 5 minutes later. Keka's header went very high and descended slowly but still managed to drop at the right time and sneak into the net.
Keka would return the favor in the 31st minute after getting by a Revolution defender and passing the ball to Sherriff Suma who would go on to score the Silverbacks' third goal on the night. Suma's shot ending up hitting a Georgia Revolution defender but he wasn't in a position to clear the shot off the line so it still ended up in the back of the net. Regardless, it looked like he was standing completely over the line so it was always going to be a goal, and it was always going to be credited to Suma.
The Silverbacks fourth, and arguably most satisfying goal of the night came in the 66th minute when a long ball from Joao was controlled by Keka who took on the lone defender in pursuit of him, made him look foolish by making him fall, going around him, then doing something similar to the keeper, and then walking the ball into the net.
The Silverbacks fifth and final goal was scored by Nyambi Jabang in the 76th minute after he received the ball in his own half and beat three Revolution defenders. A few minutes prior, Jabang was set to take a free kick but slipped while running up to hit it, so one could say that him scoring a goal was a very satisfying moment for not just him, but the fans that also felt a little bit of sympathy for him.
It was a great performance for the members of the Atlanta Ultras and Westside 109 that made the journey to the Southside, as well as other Silverbacks fans that were in attendance. This performance was a great momentum builder going into Saturday when the Silverbacks travel to Greenville for their first meeting against Greenville FC, a trip that many Silverback fans are likely to make.
After the tough 1-0 loss to Asheville last weekend, Phoday was disappointed but still confident that the team was capable of turning it around. "Sometimes the reality check comes early in the season. We just have to shake it off and get back to work. We'll be fine." It's possible that the dominating performances over the Revolution, and even the Emerald Force are what we can expect from the Silverbacks throughout the remainder of the season. Maybe Asheville just had their number in those two games. It's possible the Silverbacks will meet them again come playoff time so that might be a problem in itself, but that's a long way away so for now it's best to continue to hope for the best, and enjoy it when the best of this team does present itself like it did Wednesday night.
The Silverbacks' next game is Saturday June 2nd on the road against Greenville FC, the first meting between the two team. Some of the notable players on their roster include Jose Cubillan who played against the Silverbacks in the US Open Cup with SC United Bantams last year, former Silverbacks player Willie Hunt, and Paul Tyson who currently attends Georgia State. Their last game was a 1-1 draw against the Georgia Revolution at home in which their only goal was an own goal by a Revolution player. Prior to that they suffered a heavy 5-2 defeat at the hands of Emerald Force at home. Kickoff for saturday's game is set for 7 pm at Eugene Stone Soccer Stadium on the campus of Furman University.
Henry County High School is the third home for the Revolution in as many seasons. Regardless of where the games are played they have still been unable to beat the Silverbacks. This season's squad looked stronger on paper, and has already improved from last season by winning a game, yet they were unable to have any success against the Silverbacks that night.
With Theo Blachon in net, and a starting backline of Manuel Moreno, Abdul Bangura, Mo Issahaku, and Ryan Marcano the Silverbacks defense thwarted every Revs attack, the few times they managed to get past the holding midfield pair of Lansana and Oliveira, that is.
The Silverbacks struck first very early in the match when a long ball was controlled very well by Keka, who passed to Joao, who passed to Suma, who passed back to Joao who provided a clinical finish in only the 6th minute.
It wouldn't be the only goal that Silverbacks captain Sherriff Suma would record an assist for as he would later deliver a free kick that met the head of Keka only 5 minutes later. Keka's header went very high and descended slowly but still managed to drop at the right time and sneak into the net.
Keka would return the favor in the 31st minute after getting by a Revolution defender and passing the ball to Sherriff Suma who would go on to score the Silverbacks' third goal on the night. Suma's shot ending up hitting a Georgia Revolution defender but he wasn't in a position to clear the shot off the line so it still ended up in the back of the net. Regardless, it looked like he was standing completely over the line so it was always going to be a goal, and it was always going to be credited to Suma.
The Silverbacks fourth, and arguably most satisfying goal of the night came in the 66th minute when a long ball from Joao was controlled by Keka who took on the lone defender in pursuit of him, made him look foolish by making him fall, going around him, then doing something similar to the keeper, and then walking the ball into the net.
The Silverbacks fifth and final goal was scored by Nyambi Jabang in the 76th minute after he received the ball in his own half and beat three Revolution defenders. A few minutes prior, Jabang was set to take a free kick but slipped while running up to hit it, so one could say that him scoring a goal was a very satisfying moment for not just him, but the fans that also felt a little bit of sympathy for him.
It was a great performance for the members of the Atlanta Ultras and Westside 109 that made the journey to the Southside, as well as other Silverbacks fans that were in attendance. This performance was a great momentum builder going into Saturday when the Silverbacks travel to Greenville for their first meeting against Greenville FC, a trip that many Silverback fans are likely to make.
After the tough 1-0 loss to Asheville last weekend, Phoday was disappointed but still confident that the team was capable of turning it around. "Sometimes the reality check comes early in the season. We just have to shake it off and get back to work. We'll be fine." It's possible that the dominating performances over the Revolution, and even the Emerald Force are what we can expect from the Silverbacks throughout the remainder of the season. Maybe Asheville just had their number in those two games. It's possible the Silverbacks will meet them again come playoff time so that might be a problem in itself, but that's a long way away so for now it's best to continue to hope for the best, and enjoy it when the best of this team does present itself like it did Wednesday night.
The Silverbacks' next game is Saturday June 2nd on the road against Greenville FC, the first meting between the two team. Some of the notable players on their roster include Jose Cubillan who played against the Silverbacks in the US Open Cup with SC United Bantams last year, former Silverbacks player Willie Hunt, and Paul Tyson who currently attends Georgia State. Their last game was a 1-1 draw against the Georgia Revolution at home in which their only goal was an own goal by a Revolution player. Prior to that they suffered a heavy 5-2 defeat at the hands of Emerald Force at home. Kickoff for saturday's game is set for 7 pm at Eugene Stone Soccer Stadium on the campus of Furman University.
Friday, May 25, 2018
'backs Look To Strike Back Against Asheville
The Silverbacks will look to avenge 3-1 road loss they suffered at the hands of Asheville City on May 26 when they host the same Asheville team in their home opener. The Silverbacks have not played since the aforementioned May 19 loss while Asheville played Chattanooga FC to a 1-1 draw on Wednesday, May 23.
Asheville struck first in the game that took place last saturday when a penalty kick was converted by Bruno Andrade in the 7th minute. The Silverbacks would answer 14 minutes later with former FC Cincinnati player Aaron Walker converting a penalty kick for his first Silverbacks goal.
The two teams went into halftime level but Asheville would retake the lead on a goal by Thomas Deeley in the 54th minute when his run went completely unnoticed by the Silverbacks defenders. The lead was later doubled by Hannes Burmeister in the 64th minute after assisting Deeley's earlier goal. A whiffed clearance attempt by a Silverbacks defender left the door wide open for Burmeister who converted his chance with ease. Burmeister is one of three players on Asheville City's roster that currently attends Georgia State University. The other two are Frank Rosenwald and Lukas Joyner. Substitutions played a big part in the game as the aforementioned duo of Deeley and Burmeister did not start the game, entering in the 46th and 53rd minutes respectively.
In order to get a better result, the Silverbacks will have to make sure these defensive mistakes are not repeated, and the attack must not be as stagnant as it was. The season is still in its early days but another loss to Asheville could be a setback in Atlanta's race for the regular season Southeast Conference Title. Kickoff is set for 7pm at Silverbacks Park on Saturday, May 26.
Asheville struck first in the game that took place last saturday when a penalty kick was converted by Bruno Andrade in the 7th minute. The Silverbacks would answer 14 minutes later with former FC Cincinnati player Aaron Walker converting a penalty kick for his first Silverbacks goal.
The two teams went into halftime level but Asheville would retake the lead on a goal by Thomas Deeley in the 54th minute when his run went completely unnoticed by the Silverbacks defenders. The lead was later doubled by Hannes Burmeister in the 64th minute after assisting Deeley's earlier goal. A whiffed clearance attempt by a Silverbacks defender left the door wide open for Burmeister who converted his chance with ease. Burmeister is one of three players on Asheville City's roster that currently attends Georgia State University. The other two are Frank Rosenwald and Lukas Joyner. Substitutions played a big part in the game as the aforementioned duo of Deeley and Burmeister did not start the game, entering in the 46th and 53rd minutes respectively.
In order to get a better result, the Silverbacks will have to make sure these defensive mistakes are not repeated, and the attack must not be as stagnant as it was. The season is still in its early days but another loss to Asheville could be a setback in Atlanta's race for the regular season Southeast Conference Title. Kickoff is set for 7pm at Silverbacks Park on Saturday, May 26.
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