More Morales! Juninho is a Cure

The St. Louis Cure returned to their winning ways with a workman like effort against Gold Coast. GM/Coach Kirk Lodes, "I challenged the players before the game. Questioned their commitment and desire to win. Their response showed me a lot." The return of Edson Buddle didn't hurt the Cure's cause, but it was Man of the Match winner Javier Morales who was the real star. The Cure went down early to a Brian Ching goal, but the Salt Lake trio gave them a lead they would not relinquish. Fabian Espindola (probably lucky to not be sent off) scored, then Morales, who had been in fine form yet could not seem to score, chipped in with two assists. Even Robbie Findley, who didn't make it off the bench, added a goal--while it didn't count in the official box score, it may be a sign that the struggling striker is coming around. The 3-1 lead was far from safe. The Cure got a yellow card during the first game of the week and another would have meant a point for the Suns. But the team showed discipline, something they have been excellent at all year. The Suns made it 3-2 going into Buddle's game. He could either finish them off or (if was to be booked) cost the team 2 points. As usual, though, Buddle scored a fine goal; Edson has scored 8 goals in his 8 matches this year. GM/Coach Lodes, "I ripped into the lads a bit before the game. But I needed them to understand how important it was. We are going against probably the second best team in the league next week and we needed to restore our confidence." Additionally, the Cure made a roster move, dropping Luis Landin and signing Brazilian Juninho. Lodes, "Juninho has been on our radar for a while. The goal he scored Sunday sealed the deal. Landin is a fine player and he had some great efforts for us, but I just can't rely on him because of injuries and the fact that he probably won't start with Ching back in form."