New Mexico United had their fifth game of the 2024 season, hosting the El Paso Locomotives, and took home a roller coaster 3-2 victory. The last 15 minutes of the game saw a nail biting close finish with both teams each scoring two goals. United came off a great victory against the Rising Phoenix FC, and will now go on with a two-win streak.
Head Coach Eric Quill talked about what got his team through the game.
“It was a roller coaster night. (We came) out of the gates hot (after) scoring that first goal and then, for some reason, we let them take over,” Quill said. “We regrouped at halftime and settled down, played more of our brand and then they saw some life with those two goals, 2-1 at 88. But we showed real character with our subs coming on, which is (an) outstanding mentality.”
The game started off with good pressure from the El Paso Locomotives, keeping up the fast and concise passes. United's defenders were able to keep up with the Locomotives' play style, and goalie Alex Tambakis (1) didn't even need to block any shots in the first stretch of the game.
But the team in black and gold quickly changed the tide and took the ball, getting it to recent addition, Marco Micaletto (10), who secured an early goal in the 10 minutes of the half. His team had excellently got the ball up the left side field and passed through a defender's legs to get Micaletto his goal.
Coming out of United's goal, the Locomotives began to turn up the physicality. Even so, the United's defense continued to hold it down tight with Tambakis having a great block at the 17-minute.
Both teams went on to have a scrappy but unsuccessful 10 minutes until Greg Hurst (17) ran the ball up the field, but ended up colliding with El Paso Goalkeeper Jahmali Waite (23) and fouled, giving the Locomotives a free kick. Both players ended up on the ground and pushing the extra time a few minutes, but no serious injuries happened to either.
The Locomotives began to become antsy for a goal and earned themselves three yellow cards in the last 10 minutes of the half. Even so, United kept the score a solid 1-0 going into the second half.
In the post game, Micaletto expressed his joy over his first goal and being able to do it in front of the Albuquerque crowd.
“I was so happy that I got to have that goal in front of a crowd like this. It’s a big reason why I came here – because of the support of nine, ten-thousand people at my back,” Micaletto said.
Coming into the second half of the game, El Paso continued with their physicality, earning another yellow card in the first minute. The Saturday night game saw former United player Amando Moreno (10), but this time wearing the white and blue of the Locomotives. United fans booed Moreno any time he came in contact with the ball.
With the cold wind blowing, both teams kept themselves warm with the scrappy battles for the ball at the sidelines for a majority of the game. United got a good break up the middle after one battle but, once again, couldn't finish it off.
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It wasn't until the last 10 minutes of the match when the Locomotives brought back the score. Justin Dhillon (9) made a great pass to Joaquín Rivas (7) who put the ball away to even out the score 1-1 at the 80-minute mark. Continuing off of that momentum, the Locomotives were to put another goal away off a penalty kick by Moreno.
But the team in black and gold wouldn't let that slide in front of the nine thousand fans. Jacobo Reyes (20) broke his way through the defense and sank a clean header into the goal to even out the score to 2-2 at the 90-minute mark. With seven minutes of stoppage time added, United took a page out of El Paso's book as Nicky Hernandez (8) found his own goal, making it 3-2.
With only a few minutes of stoppage time left, United only had to hold on. The team took home a tough conditioned game with an electrifying finish to an otherwise slower game.
United will play in the US Open Cup against the Lubbock Matadors on Tuesday, Apr. 16 in Rio Rancho.
BillyJack Davidson is a beat reporter at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @BillyJackDL
BillyJack Davidson is a beat reporter at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached on Twitter @BillyJackDL
