Atlanta Silverbacks

The Silverbacks U23s opened their home season tonight with their first win of the season, beating the Ajax Orlando Prospects 3-0.
          “We were pleased with our performance today, we did a lot more of the things we’ve been talking about and working on at practice. We talked about the importance of winning at home and I think the guys responded well overall,” said Head Coach Chris Shaw.
          The newest Silverbacks franchise looked organized and aggressive from the start of the game, dominating possession of the ball. The hometown team gave fans something to cheer about in the 8th minute when Paul Pessina put the U23s ahead 1-0. Pessina, the Silverbacks’ center back, used his height to get over the Ajax defense and score a header from a corner kick by John Drummond. The Silverbacks got on the scoreboard again in the 35th minute when newcomer Macoumba Kandji took the ball to the endline and played it back to a trailing Damone Priestly - Priestly easily finished the ball first time. Dame Walters helped the Silverbacks defense and made several key tackles. The half ended with a 2-0 advantage to the Silverbacks.
          The second half began much like the first with the Silverbacks keeping possession. Although Ajax settled into play, the Silverbacks remained in control with Pessina organizing the defense, Drummond locking up the middle, and Priestly dominating up top. In the 71st minute Jyler Noveillo sent the ball to Priestly who finished his second goal of the night, putting the Silverbacks up by three. The Silverbacks kept the Prospects scoreless and went home with a shutout. The U23s will play their next game tomorrow night (Saturday, May 20) against the Cocoa Expos at 7:00 pm at Atlanta Classic Cars Field.