Asheville City SC hosted East Atlanta FC on Tuesday night at Greenwood Field and scored a 4-0 behind their flying attack and were stout defense, building on their excellent form this season.

Asheville City SC wasted little to no time grabbing ahold of the match, with high pressure and dynamic attacking play right from kickoff. Their first real opportunity of the match came in the fifth minute, when Ernest Mensah swung a right footed cross into Simon Carlson, whose header was saved by East Atlanta FC goalkeeper James Dee.

Asheville’s relentless attacking continued with a one man counter-attack from Carlson in the eighth minute where he was fouled hard by EAFC’s Killian Griffin, who in turn received the first yellow card of the match. 

The Blue's relentless attack paid off in the 11th minute, and again it was Carlson who was involved. Carlson split two East Atlanta midfielders with a classy body feint inside his own half, before zipping a through ball between two defenders to an on-running Mensah. Mensah crossed low and hard back across the penalty area to find Edouard Nys, whose left-footed first time shot rocketed past Dee into the top left corner to give Asheville a 1-0 lead. 

EAFC struggled to build consistent possession, but had their most dangerous moment of the half coming in the 30th minute. After winning possession in the right corner of Asheville’s half, Kimoni Mills swung in a cross that was met by Juan Minguez Malonda. His initial shot was saved well by Johnny Mennell, and Robin Vezinhet sent the rebound flying over the bar on the volley.

Asheville continued to threaten while making heavy use of Jack Casey down the left flank. In the 40th minute, Casey delivered a pinpoint cross from the left wing to Carlson, who rose to meet it seven yards from goal only to glance his header just wide of the far post. 

They wouldn’t miss the next time, however, as Casey again found space on the left and sent in a curling ball to the far post where Mensah timed his run perfectly and headed it home to give the Men in Blue a 2-0 lead in the 42nd minute.

Asheville City SC carried their momentum straight into the second half, immediately putting pressure on EAFC’s back line through a series of corners and attacking sequences. 

In the 48th minute, Carlson played a short corner to Chay Strine and received it right back before curling a dangerous ball into the box. EAFC managed to clear it for another corner, and just two minutes later, Casey’s deflected cross earned ACSC their third set piece from the left side in as many minutes.

An East Atlanta free kick in the 53rd minute from near the left touchline was cleared by Mao Wong, allowing the Blues to counter quickly with an outlet ball sent from Dylan Kropp to Nys wide on the right flank. Nys then danced his way through four EAFC defenders before attempting to slip a ball into Carlson at the edge of the box. The ball went just out of reach for Carlson and was collected by Dee.

Nys wasn’t done tormenting the EAFC defense as just a minute later, he dazzled spectators with tight footwork near the right side and darted onto the top of the penalty area before chipping a clever ball into the middle for David Perez. With composure and class, Perez lofted a delicate chip from in tight over the onrushing Dee to extend Asheville’s lead to 3-0 in the 55th minute.

11 minutes later, Asheville struck again. João Silva threaded a beautiful left-footed ball on the ground through the EAFC back line to Casey, who took advantage of a miscommunication from the EAFC defense and slipped in behind his defender. Casey calmly rounded Dee with his first touch and tapped home Asheville’s fourth of the night to give the Blues a 4-0 lead.

Asheville refused to let the four-goal cushion make any excuses to stop pressure, as again the Blues pressed high in the East Atlanta half. Silva won the ball off of Griffin and skipped past him before being taken down from behind by Griffin just outside the right side of the penalty area. The challenge earned Griffin his second yellow card and an early exit, leaving EAFC down to 10 men in the 70th minute.

The game opened up after the red card, allowing for a host of attacking opportunities for Asheville, who were unlucky to not net a fifth. The game ended 4-0 to the Men in Blue, extending their win streak to eight games and building on their lead at the top of the South Central Division table. 

After the match Coach Wells spoke about the team’s resilience at this late stage of the season.

“Obviously at this stage in the season, it's all about how badly you want it. It's not necessarily about being fresh, it's just finding a way and obviously wanting to play for the community, the city and the club,” said Wells. “And that's what the guys did and got another shutout again, I'm just so incredibly proud of the boys for the shutout.”

Jack Casey was awarded the Noble Player of the Match for his efforts on the night, which included a goal and an assist.

The Men of Asheville City are back in action on Tuesday, July 1, as they open up a three-game road trip at Nolensville High School Stadium against Tennessee SC before returning home on Saturday, July 12, to take on the same Tennessee SC. The Women in Blue return to Greenwood Field on Saturday, June 28, as they host the Greenville Liberty for Pride Night before lifting the South Central Division trophy after the game. You can buy your tickets here.