By: BoriQa | February 10th, 2009
The USL sub-champion Puerto Rico Islanders and the MLS sub-champion New York Red Bulls played to a scoreless draw yesterday in a preseason game in Bradenton, Florida.
The Islanders starting lineup included: Bill Gaudette, Scott Jones, Sandy Gbandi, John Krause, Cristian Arrieta, Martin Nuñez, Jonathan Steele, Nigel Henry, Nick Addlery, Noah Delgado and trialist Serge Tatiefang. There was only one substitution in the 1st half, James Marcelin for Tatiefang.
The Islanders best chance of the match came in the 14th minute. Sandy Gbandi shot from the right side of the penalty box but his shot was punched away by goalkeeper Danny Cepero. Nicholas Addlery hit in the rebound, but the Red Bulls defense blocked the shot, preventing the Islanders from scoring their first goal of the preseason.
Puerto Rico’s lineup for the 2nd half included: Justin Myers, Kevon Villaroel, Kirby, Gray, Andres Cabrero, Swisher, Josh Hansen, Kevin Mesa, James Marcelin, Petter Villegas and Sean Fraser. The only substitution in the 2nd half was Volk for James Marcelin.
In the 48′ minute Andres Cabrero hit a shot that forced goalkeeper Danny Cepero to make a diving stop in front of the left post poking the ball away for a corner. Cepero punched away the ensuing corner.
General Colin Clarke continued to evaluate the talent of both current players and trialists, and he told Primera Hora that “Our play improved from our previous game and that is important. We keep improving with every game and I’m really satisfied with the result”.
The Islanders will play their next preseason game today (Feb 10th) against the Bulls of the University of South Florida.
