Georgia Revolution give up late lead to Carolina

Georgia Revolution gave up a two-goal lead on Wednesday night to FC Carolina Discoveries in a 3-2 home loss. Not being able to deal with set pieces became the critical factor in the Revolution's third loss of the season.

How it happened

Georgia Revolution Starting XI: Bjorn Kammholz (GK), Jonathan Guy, Ibrahima Faye, Kofi Yankey, Adam McCabe, Scott Redding, Raby George, Adam Abdellaoui, Sam Mountstephens, Nick Wells, Marcelle Francois

The game started out fairly even; the Revolution dominated possession, but neither team created any major opportunities early on. In the 10th minute, Georgia Revolution almost went ahead when a cross was delivered in and rebounded off a Carolina defender but their keeper made a fantastic reaction save to keep the ball out of the net. The first clear cut chance came when Marcelle Francois checked to the ball to receive a pass and flicked on to Scott Redding, who was making a run on the right side. Redding continued his run at full speed and played a low cross to Nick Wells, who was cutting in on the left but wasn't able to put it past the Discoveries' goalkeeper.

The Discoveries created a few chances here and there, but the Revolution pulled ahead in the 38th minute thanks to Adam Abdellaoui. Abdellaoui pressured the Discovery halfback who had the ball at midfield, nicked it off him, and took it all the way to finish in the bottom left corner to make the score 1-0 to Georgia Revolution.

The Revolution went into the break with a 1-0 lead but were forced to sub off central defender, Ibrahima Faye, and striker, Marcelle Francois, due to injury. These were both critical changes in the game as Faye was a dominant force in the air along the Revolution back line and Francois had been doing a solid job up top.

In the second half, however, Georgia Revolution continued where they left off and created a flurry of chances in the opening minutes. The second Revolution goal started in the 51st minute when a Discovery forward unleashed a thunderous effort towards goal which Kammholz palmed out for a Discovery corner. The Revolution won the ball from the corner, Abdellaoui charged down field, laid it off to Carlos Mendoza who crossed it to Scott Redding who was able to beat the goalkeeper and make the score 2-0 to the Revolution.

Georgia Revolution's fortune soon came to an end. In the 66th minute, the Discoveries won the ball in the final third after the Revolution failed to clear and blasted the ball in the top of the net to begin their comeback at 2-1. In the 76th minute, Nick Wells, a bright spot in midfield, had to come off for Sajaad Delane after going down with an injury.

Just a minute later, the Discoveries equalized from a free kick on the far left side of the box. The Revolution failed to clear the cross and a Discovery player latched on to a bouncing ball to put it in the back of the net. The score then 2-2, the Revolution were under immense pressure.

In the 81st minute, Georgia Revolution gave up another corner in which Carolina scored on to steal the lead. The Discovery cross from the left side wasn't met by a Revolution player and was headed into the back of the net, beating Kammholz. The Revolution got a half chance in the dying minutes but were never able to tie the game back up. Final score 3-2 to FC Carolina Discoveries.

Updated NPSL South Atlantic Conference Standings:

My take

Georgia Revolution were perhaps unlucky on Wednesday night. I thought they played well and created quality chances but just couldn't properly deal with set pieces. Ibrahima Faye's injury was a massive blow as he likely would have dealt with at least two of Carolina's goals.

In a night without head coach Jürgen Maurer and dealing with several injuries, Georgia Revolution might have felt they could have seen a better result.

Looking forward

The Revolution will be back on the road again this Saturday when they take on Birmingham Hammers in the second leg of the I-20 Cup. Entering the away leg, Georgia Revolution will be defending a 2-0 lead after their win in Conyers earlier this month. Winning the I-20 Cup would be a good opportunity to build some momentum going into the rest of the NPSL season.