The Atlanta Silverbacks will make their first ever visit to Community First Park to take on the Jacksonville Armada on Saturday, August 15th. Atlanta is riding a four match unbeaten streak which has seen them rise from the bottom of the Spring Table to sixth place in the Combined Table. The key to that rise has been the goal-scoring prowess of Pedro Mendes, Jaime Chavez, and Junior Burgos. Jacksonville, coming off a 3-0 win over the Carolina Railhawks on Wednesday, will look to continue their goal scoring successes. Despite being shut out in the first three matches of the Fall Season, the Armada players have scored nine goals already.
Atlanta is expected to start the same eleven players that have played the last several matches. The 3-5-2 formation has been very productive, but the amount of minutes being accumulated by many of the players, especially on defense, should be cause for concern. The back three have played every available minute in the league this year. Also playing on the hard turf at Silverbacks Park in the heat of an Atlanta summer will take a toll. It will be interesting to see if Manager Gary Smith rotates the squad at all.
The two teams have met twice this year. Both meetings occurred in Atlanta with the Silverbacks winning 1-0 earlier in the Fall Season and the teams drawing 1-1 in May. That win against Jacksonville was the beginning of the rise into mid-table.
Jacksonville comes into the match eighth in the fall table and the Silverbacks are 2nd in the fall table. Jacksonville is also eighth in the Combined Table, and the Silverbacks are sixth, only two points out of a playoff spot. A win, with a little help from other results, could put the Silverbacks in a playoff spot, but there is still one-third of the season to go.
The match will be shown live on ESPN3.
