Sidekicks Drop Second Playoff Game to Fury 10-7

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE        
Paul Donaghy
469-393-0162
paul@dallassidekicks.org

Allen, Texas (March 28, 2021)– The Dallas Sidekicks lost at home to the Ontario Fury 10-7 on Sunday as the visitors advanced to round two of the MASL playoffs. Unlike the first game which was a tight affair which came down to the last few seconds, the Fury took an early 6-0 lead in Texas and Dallas would continue to fight back but in the end it wouldn't be enough against a veteran Ontario squad. It was almost an identical score to the first game in which the Fury prevailed 9-7.

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Allen Texas and as always, pefect within the Allen Event Center for some MASL playoff action. The Fury would get on the board at the 8:15 mark thanks to the powerful leg of last years league MVP, Franck Tayou. A Sidekicks giveaway deep in their own territory would lead to the second goal of the game, when Maicon De Abreu would steal the ball from Gustavo Piedra and find Juan Carlos Gonzalez for the easy tap in. Soon after Maicon De Abreu would take a pass off a free kick from Juan Carlos Gonzalez, returning the favor from the previous goal, and put in in to put the visitors up 3-0 and matching their start from the first game of the series. The quarter would end with the Fury having a man advantage after defender David Ortiz was called for tripping with 31 seconds left and getting their fourth goal of the game with 6.7 seconds left on a goal by Justin Stinson.

The second quarter would stay scoreless until the 8:23 when Ontario's Jorge Deleon would beat Juan Gamboa on an unassisted goal to increase the Fury's lead to five. Franck Tayou would push the lead to six on his second goal of the game two minutes later. Sidekick's All-Star midfielder Lipe would get the Sidekicks goal with five minutes on the clock after crushing a left-footed shot past Fury goalie Claysson De Lima. At the four minute mark Sidekicks head coach Simon Bozas would use a challenge on a Fury elbow and be rewarded with a resulting blue card and two minute man advantage. Sidekicks captain Freddie Moojen would make Ontario pay with a well placed right-footed shot to the the post off an assist from Lipe. With the game tightening up on the scoreboard you could sense the confidence grown within the Dallas team who began to push the attack more looking to close the gap even further by halftime. The Sidekicks would be unable to score a third straight goal despite Freddie Moojen getting a penalty kicks with five seconds left after the Ontario goalie handled the ball outside of the box. The half which would end at 6-2 with Ontario holding the edge in shots 12-9.

The second half would would start with a Sidekicks power play aftrer Fury Goalkeeper, Claysson De Lima's handball at the end of the first half. Oscar Romero would blast in a shot to the opposite post upper-90 to cut the Fury lead to three after they had jumped out to a 6-0 lead. With all the momentum Dallas had Ontario on their heels as the third quarter progressed with the visitors looking to counter the Sidekicks. Dallas defender David Ortiz would pick up a yellow card for dissent but both teams would stay at even strength after five minutes. With just over seven minutes left the Fury would push their lead back to four after Maicon De Abreu scored his second goal of the game.

The Sidekicks would go back on the power play after a Justin Stinson tripping call with the chance to slice into the lead. That would happen almost instantly as a Freddie Moojen shot was deflected up and over the the goalie off a defender. After a Lipe fould deep in the Ontario zone, Ontario's Israel Sesay would push the ball all the way up the field without being challenged and take a shot that would beat Juan Gamboa to his right hand side to double up Dallas 8-4 which is how ther quarter would end.

With the season on the line the Sidekicks had a lot of work to do against a strong and experience Fury team who was looking to close the game out and move to the next round of the palyoffs. A slick pass from Juan Carlos Gonzalez off a free kick would be converted once again by Maicon De Abreu as their chemistry troubled the Sidekicks all afternoon long. Ontario's Thiago Goncalves would receive a blue card for pushing which would be overturned after being challenged by the Fury coaching staff. Lipe's second goal of the game would come off a Freddie Moojen assist as the two Brazilian's combined to cut the lead to 9-5. That would prompt Dallas to bring on a sixth attacker and Moojen would cut the lead scoring his hat trick close to the Fury goal off a strong passs from Oscar Romero. Just seconds later forward Antony Powell would for Ontario to call a timeout by scoring his first goal of the game after a Lipe shot would come off the back of Fury goalie Claysson De Lima.

With just over five minutes left Ontario would be having flashbacks to game one up just two goals with Dallas causing them all sorts of trouble. The next goal would be crucial either cutting the lead to one or pushing it to three with time becomming a major factor. With 2:05 left Robert Palmer would take a pass from former Sidekick Nestor Hernandez and score against the sixth attacker to push the lead back to three at 10-7 which is where things would end up. It was another valiant effort by the Sidekicks against the second seeded Fury which would come up just short.

The Dallas Sidekicks would like to thank all the fans who attending our games at the Allen Event Center all season long as well as those fans who watched the team play home game on channel TXA21.

MASL Match Report
Match: Dallas Sidekicks vs Ontario Fury
Date: March 28, 2021
Venue: Allen Event Center, Allen, Texas
Kickoff: 3:00PM CT
Broadcast: MASL Facebook Live Page

ABOUT THE DALLAS SIDEKICKS
The Dallas Sidekicks is an American professional indoor soccer team of the Major Arena Soccer League. The organization was established in 1983, is headquartered in Allen, Texas, and plays all home games at the Allen Event Center. Follow the Sidekicks at www.dallassidekicks.com and on their social media.
Facebook: @gosidekicksofficial Twitter: @gosidekicks Instagram: @gosidekicksofficial

ABOUT THE MAJOR ARENA SOCCER LEAGUE
The Major Arena Soccer Leaguerepresents the highest level of professional arena soccer in the world. The MASL features teams across North America, with teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. The MASL is currently incorporated as a 501(c)6 not for profit corporation formed to promote the business and sport of arena soccer.