Nona FC Stumbles Against Sporting Jax on the Road, 2-0

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Nona FC showed flashes of promise, but it was not enough as the squad fell in its rematch on the road with Sporting Club JAX, 2-0, on Saturday night at Mandarin High School.

The contest’s opening stages were tense, with only two shots in the opening 15 minutes of action. In the 14th minute, Nona’s (3-3-0, Southeast Division) Joao Belmudes received the ball on the outside of the box, and after cutting inside, unleashed a curling effort that sailed past the fingertips of Jax (5-2-1, Southeast Division) goalkeeper Luciano Natoli, inching just wide of the left post, as Nona threatened to break the deadlock.

Shortly after, in the 21st minute of play, Sporting Club JAX put together a fluid passing sequence that ended with Osei Gyamfi scoring his fifth goal in three games, assisted by William Ampofo’s final pass.

The Longhorns’ moment to equalize almost came in the 34th minute when Bernardo Monteiro’s through-ball found Belmudes, who once again bested Natoli but could not find the back of the net, with his chipped effort rolling narrowly wide of the post.

Jax doubled the lead after the halftime break in the 51st minute when Keegan Lynch’s long throw found Ethan Newsome, who turned in a low cross toward goal. Substitute forward Segun Afolabi then turned quickly and fired a shot into the top right corner of the net, scoring his second goal in as many matches.

With the result, Sporting Jax are now on a four-game winning streak, which is the longest in the Southeast Division this season. Jax remain at the top of the league standings with 16 points after eight games, boasting the best points-per-game ratio in the division with 2.00. 

The Black and Orange will look to bounce back on Wednesday, June 18, when they return home to Austin-Tindall Sports Complex to host Brooke House FC at 7 p.m. 

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