Preview: Two matches in Indiana

by Alex Beilman, contributor

Photo: Hickling Images

[ ROAD TRIP SALE!! ]

FC Buffalo will look to keep up its winning ways this weekend on a road trip to the Hoosier State.

Friday night will see the Blitzers play at FC Indiana for a rematch of this past Sunday’s match that saw the Blitzers run out 1-0 winners. Then, Sunday will be the first match this season against last year’s conference champions, now called Indy Eleven NPSL.

The three-day span could prove to be a critical period in the season for FC Buffalo. They currently sit third in the Great Lakes East table, just six points behind Indy Eleven NPSL with two fewer matches played. A pair of victories on the weekend could see them leap over Sunday’s opponents.

Credit: Dan & Margaret | Hickling Images https://www.flickr.com/people/dan_hickling/ Do not use without express written permission of FC Buffalo
Credit: Hickling Images

“The focus is Friday right now. We’ve got a game ahead of us and it’s massive,” head coach Brendan Murphy said. “We’ve got to take the lessons we learned in the last game and try to build off of our performance there. The main thing is Friday, and then we can talk about Sunday after that.”

[ BUY: Discounted tickets for our next home game ]

“The way that the league is where we have 10 games, it’s basically 10 championships. It’s 10 playoff games,” assistant coach Bob Roach added. “Unfortunately we put ourselves behind the 8-ball a little bit, but we’re crawling back. The boys have responded to the challenge and this weekend is another challenge. It starts Friday night and three points is the goal there.”

The Blitzers began the season in a rut, dropping their first two matches. However, they’ve collected wins in the last two league games that were separated by the Rust Belt Derby. The message to the players seems to have gotten through, and they are preparing mentally as much as they are physically.

“It’s going to be a tough weekend: the long ride to get there and two games in three days. So we’re preparing mentally and physically to be ready for the challenge,” said defender David Acuna Camacho.

“We didn’t have our best performance [on Sunday] so I think we’re really looking forward to making up for it. We’re hoping for six points and nothing less than that.”

Fans can follow the first part of the road trip at Mes Que, the club’s official supporters pub . There will be a stream of the game available at the pub starting at 7 p.m. Sunday’s match against Indy Eleven kicks off at 1 p.m.