Back on the road, as Indy visits Fort Lauderdale. The Strikers got off to a mildly dismal start, but are now coming off one of the biggest wins of the NASL season, a 3-1 road upset of Carolina (which had won its first four games). Indy is coming off a disappointing 1-1 home draw with FC Edmonton, in which the team reverted to somewhat disjointed form after a decent couple of games. Brad Ring apparently is doubtful for this one, which probably opens the door for Nicky Paterson (Dylan Mares is an alternative, I suppose, but Mares plus Ubi would create an unbalanced midfield overly focused on attack; that doesn't seem like Hankinson's style). A win here cements Indy's status as a serious contender; a loss moves the team toward mid-table; a draw, well, at least keeps Indy undefeated.
Hoping that bye week didn't kill our momentum. It's kinda hard to predict this, but regardless, I feel this will a very testing, telling match. A loss almost confirms we just had a nice run of luck for the start of the season.
Your @IndyEleven XI vs FTL (4-4-2): Busch; Vukovic, Janicki, Falvey, Palmer; Mares, Larrea, Ubiparipovic, Gordon; Braun, Reinoso— Indy Eleven Live (@IndyElevenLive) May 14, 2016
Very poor start to the game, got better later in the half. Definitely need to improve in the 2nd half, Gordon had a couple good chances to score but had a header go just wide and a shot blocked.
I just got home planning to watch the last half hour, only to discover that the game is in an extended rain delay. Sounds like it wasn't a great first half. But at least we're still level.