After their match versus Birmingham Legion FC was postponed last week, New Mexico United were eager to be back at home against the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in USL Championship action. New Mexico won a physical battle as goalkeeper Kris Shakes delivered another clean sheet for United to prevail 1-0. Much of the game was anything but clean though, as there were 33 fouls and 24 total tackles combined between the two squads.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game, Colorado's good,” Shakes said after the match. ”It's a passionate game. We have our old player on the other team, so both teams want to win so bad, but I'm just grateful we stuck together tonight and got the result. It was big time to get back at home tonight in front of our crowd. The 12th man on the field basically is the crowd.”
Shakes had a big day with six saves and 21 recoveries.
New Mexico Head Coach Dennis Sanchez admired his team’s ability to win in different ways and their projection.
“Sometimes it’s not going to be perfect. So what I said to them after was very much: it’s much better to learn and win than learn and lose,” Coach Sanchez said. “It’s a credit to the guys. We’re an ambitious team, we’re an ambitious club. Our sights are very much set on securing the first spot in the Western Conference.”
The match was scoreless throughout the first half, and New Mexico defender Maliek Howell broke the tie with the game’s only goal in the 51st minute after halftime.
“That guy puts in a lot of work, in training, on the field, and off the field, and I'm happy he got rewarded,” United defender Chris Gloster said of Howell. “It's obviously sad that he had to come off with an injury, but we'll find out more. He scored our goal for us, and then we carried him to the finish line. That's what we do as a team.”
New Mexico United will look to keep their momentum going as they head to Seaside, California next week to play Monterey Bay FC.
Alex Joe is a freelance videographer for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @DailyLobo
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