AFC Mobile finished their second NPSL season with a thrilling 6-2 win over Tallahassee Soccer Club on Saturday night in Mobile.  Forward Ronaldo Fortune scored half of Mobile’s goals on the night, netting the first hat trick for the club in the NPSL.

The visitors opened the scoring in the second minute of the match when Sy Fontenot slotted home a low-rolling shot off a quick restart after a foul outside the penalty area.  The Azaleas equalized five minutes later in the ninth minute after a long ball from the backfield that found the feet of Fortune, who scored his first of the night.  

The Azaleas doubled their tally in the 13th minute after a charging Jose Reis played a low-rolling rocket of a cross that was turned into the net by Chris Salamatou.

Fortune doubled his tally on the night after picking up a Tallahassee giveaway in the 37th minute.  In the 42nd minute, the referee showed Eddie Dakwa a straight red card for the denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity for Tallahassee.  The Azaleas went into the locker room at halftime up 3-1 but down to 10 men. 

Shortly after the start of the second half, Tallahassee won the ball in midfield and strung together a few passes that found the feet of Sy Fontenot, who scored his second goal of the night, cutting Mobile’s lead to one.  The Azaleas scored their fourth goal in the 67th minute after a long ball from Mobile keeper Will Blake was headed into the feet of Salamatou who scored his second goal of the match, bringing the score to 4-2.  

Fortune completed his hat trick in the 88th minute.  Mobile’s Iba Ndaw, who in Wednesday night’s game in Pensacola tied Chisom Ogbonna for the most goals in the club’s history, stepped up to take a free kick from a few yards outside of the box.  Ndaw’s shot was saved, but Fortune slotted home the rebound to bring the score to 5-2. 

“We haven’t had the greatest season,” Fortune said. “We’ve faced a lot of adversity, and today was just the boys coming out and putting on a big performance for the people that have stuck with us this whole season.  And yeah, I scored three goals, but the most important thing was playing our last game together, playing for the badge, playing for AFC Mobile, and honestly playing for Mobile in general.”

Mobile scored their sixth and final goal of the night in the 93rd minute when Edy Gael played the ball to Fortune down the right wing.  Fortune sent the ball into the box to find Gael who slotted the ball home.  Minutes later, the referee blew the whistle, and the match ended 6-2. 

AFC Mobile finished the season in fifth place, just outside of the Gulf Coast Conference playoff spots with 13 points. 

AFC Mobile’s playoff dreams have officially come to an end after falling 2-1 to Pensacola FC at the Archbishop Lipscomb Athletic Complex on Wednesday night.

The Azaleas opened the scoring in the 36th minute when Diego Candía played a long ball to Jose Reis, booming down the right wing.  Reis attempted to send the ball into Chris Salamatou, but Reis’ ball was deflected by a Pensacola defender.  Iba Ndaw struck the deflected ball at the top of the penalty area and rocketed the ball into the back of the net, giving the Azaleas a 1-0 lead. The goal was Ndaw’s 21st for the Azaleas, tying him with Chisom Ogbonna on the club’s all-time goalscoring list. 

“Being from here, I’m very proud to have played for this club,” Ndaw said, “I’m happy to be a small part of the history.  I’m really glad to have tied the record and gone down with a club legend like Chisom Ogbonna.  It’s always been a great time playing here in front of our amazing fans.” 

Pensacola FC did not trail for long.  In the 41st minute, Mobile’s Salia Carr was shown a yellow card after bringing down a Pensacola player inside the penalty area on a Mobile counterattack. Mikey Lightbourne stepped up and slotted home the penalty for the visitors, leveling the score at 1-1. 

After feeling some soreness during halftime, Mobile’s goalkeeper Gui Altoé came off for Will Blake to start the second half.  The match saw few chances for either side in the second half. Pensacola took the lead in the 70th minute after a quick counterattack from Pensacola resulted in a goal from Anthony Ciccarello. 

The 2-1 loss cements the playoff positions in the NPSL’s Gulf Coast Conference with Jacksonville Armada FC U23 and Southern States Soccer Club hosting first-round matches after finishing first and second.  The New Orleans Jesters finished in third place and will travel to Hattiesburg to take on Southern States while Pensacola will travel to Jacksonville to take on the top-seeded Armada.  AFC Mobile will close the season at home this Saturday night against Tallahassee Soccer Club. 

AFC Mobile traveled to Oak Grove, Mississippi to face a red hot Southern States SC team, taking their just their second loss in five games, and ending their 3 game unbeaten streak Wednesday evening. 

The game opened in light rain which continued for most of the game, making the grass wet on top with the ball skipping on the surface even though conditions underfoot were near perfect. 

Both the Azaleas and Stars proceeded to play progressive soccer.  During the first 20 minutes the Oak Grove outfit had the better of possession as Mobile found it difficult to pass through the center of the Stars’ defensive lines.

The Stars produced a few long-range efforts that troubled Mobile goalkeeper Will Blake and eventually one of those efforts was rebounded off Blake, who after making a diving save, parried the ball into the center of the goal for a completely free Clayton Adams to score into open net.  This would give the Stars the lead. The half ended with little incident as both the Stars and Azaleas toiled to create scoring chances.

The Stars started the second half on the front foot with several attacking excursions into Mobile territory coming up short.  The visitors were struggling to impress in the opening minutes. 

In the 54th minute, Stars head coach Carl Reynolds was ejected from the game on a second yellow card. 

Mobile leveled the score at 1-1 within three minutes of the ejection.  The Stars failed to cut out a right-wing cross, and Christopher Salamatou rose to head home at the far post. 

The intensity of the game certainly rose as the Azaleas gained confidence and the crowd started to engage.  Four minutes later, in almost identical fashion to the Mobile goal, Sheldon Green headed home Manu Ferriol’s assist to restore his team’s lead at 2-1.  In the 67th minute the visitors found themselves behind 3-1 as a high ball from the left, off Green, evaded Blake and dropped behind him into the net. 

The Stars never lost control of the game after that and continued to blunt the Mobile attacks while creating more chances of their own.  It was inevitable that there would be several substitutions which only proceeded to break up the continuity of the game.

However, the Stars managed to help themselves to one more goal and put an exclamation point on the score when Green swept the ball home in the 82nd minute.  For Green it was a second-half hat trick.

“I don’t think the scoreline fully reflects the full game,” said Mobile assistant coach Desmond Ibie. “We had opportunities, but the finishing was just slightly off. Southern States is one of the premier teams in our conference and credit to them for taking full advantage of the situation, particularly after their coach was sent off. All we can do now is look towards Jacksonville and keep ourselves in the playoff hunt.”

Southern States SC improved to 8-2-0 on a six-game winning streak while AFC Mobile dropped to 3-5-1.  The Stars secured their grip on second place in the conference but need help if they are to overcome leaders Jacksonville Armada FC U-23.  New Orleans, Pensacola FC, Mobile, and the Florida Roots are now competing for the two other playoff spots.