INDIANAPOLIS – Bruno Rendón and Anthony Herbert rallied Indy Eleven to a 2-1 victory against Sporting Club Jacksonville at Michael A. Carroll Stadium on Saturday night, bringing the hosts back from a halftime deficit after Jacksonville’s Ahmad Al-Qaq had opened the scoring.
The Boys in Blue had the first good opportunity of the match in the 26th minute when Loïc Mesanvi’s header off a cross by Aodhan Quinn was well saved by Jacksonville’s Christian Olivares. The visitors took the lead in the final minute of the first half, however, as they were able to turn possession over in the attacking third, setting up Ahmad Al-Qaq for a give-and-go with Emil Jääskeläinen at the top of the penalty area that Al-Qaq fired into the top-left corner.
Indy hit back early in the second half when Quinn’s corner kick from the right was headed into the left corner by Rendón, and the hosts gained the lead in the 65th minute off a remarkable sequence which saw Logan Neidlinger’s shot from distance fly high back into the penalty area off the crossbar where Herbert won the header to nod home into the right corner, and that proved the difference as the hosts closed out the result.
Takeaways
Indy Eleven – The Boys in Blue rebounded for their third win in four home outings in the league this season with a result that was ultimately deserved as the hosts’ attacking pressure eventually paid off. Indy recorded 26 shots and put nine on target to take care of their expansion visitors.
Sporting Club Jacksonville – The winless run to start their inaugural season continued for the visitors after Ahmad Al-Qaq put the side ahead in a contest for the first time since March. Jacksonville broke its scoreless streak at 433 minutes but the finish proved the only shot on target as its defense was unable to limit Indy’s second-half opportunities.