The Villages SC 2–1 Florida Elite SA
Two men down, and three points
Top of the division against second, two points between us, the midpoint of the season. Win it and we go first.
We led from the eighteenth minute, had two players sent off, and won it in the eighty-fourth with nine men.
Nine men. The whole second half short-handed, most of it two players down. And a winning goal in the 84th minute.
You had to see it to believe it.
Our eleven. Weston King in goal — yet to concede a goal all season — behind Henry Sanchez, Yago Lopes, Eric Ganime and Gustavo Murtha. Cedric Tatu, Pedro Santos and Daniel Oliveira in midfield. Lucas Mauro, Leo Paiva and Nicholas Butler up front.
18' — Nicholas Butler. Mauro got it across and behind the Florida Elite defence, and Butler tapped it in. Our earliest goal of the season to that point, and Elite looked completely disoriented by it.
1–0.
Then the red cards.
The first came before half time. We played the rest of the half a man down and went in still ahead.
The second was Leo Paiva, in the second half.
"This is unbelievable. This is unthinkable. The Villages are now playing two men down. Arguably the Villages' two best attacking players have been sent off in this match, after being harangued for most of it."
Florida Elite equalised. Nine men against the best team in the division, with an hour gone.
And then we won it.
84th minute — Gustavo Murtha.
Our right back. A defender, who had spent the previous half hour defending a one-goal lead with nine men, went up and scored the winner against the best team in the division.
Florida Elite spent the rest of the match trying to get back into it. Weston King played the closing stretch holding his ribs and would not come off.
"A long-time Villages SC player who has played with the club in multiple seasons, finally getting his shot this year. A lot of heart from the young Buffalo keeper."
2–1. Three points, and first place in the Southeast Division, alone at the top.
The noise from that supporters' section afterwards was something else.
Three points. And first place in the Southeast Division, alone at the top after four matches.
The Buffalo way.
