A dramatic late winner from Bermudian forward Andrew Armstrong saw FC Motown II wrap up their USL League Two regular season with a thrilling 4-2 victory over the Long Island Rough Riders.
The victory at Madison, New Jersey, officially mathematically eliminated the third-placed Rough Riders from playoff contention, capping off a high-stakes Metropolitan Division finale.
Long Island had initially put themselves on the right track to keep their postseason ambitions alive, breaking the deadlock in the 21st minute through defender Joshua Gordon. However, the hosts responded just before the interval when Giacomo Zizza restored parity five minutes ahead of half-time.
The momentum swung heavily into Motown's favor after the restart, with forward Julien Lacher delivering a clinical go-ahead goal on the hour mark. Long Island refused to go down quietly, and Finlay Oliver looked to have rescued their season with a superb 72nd-minute equalizer.
With the game tied at 2-2 and heading into a frantic final ten minutes, the bottom completely fell out for the visitors.
Armstrong became the hero for FC Motown II in the 80th minute, showing superb composure to strike what would prove to be the match-winner.
A late red card for the unraveling Rough Riders compounded their misery, allowing Akira Bofinger to put the gloss on the scoreline with a 90th-minute fourth to cement the three points for the regular-season leaders.
|
