Late strike helps short-handed United salvage 2-2 draw with Las Vegas

A little late drama didn’t entirely save the day, but it did give New Mexico United a much-needed spark Saturday night.

With his team a man down, Thomas Amang banged home a tying goal in the 88th minute and United salvaged a 2-2 draw with visiting Las Vegas Lights FC at Isotopes Park. The late goal capped a furious late surge by NMU, which snapped a club-record four-game losing streak and sent a crowd of 11,581 home with something to smile about.

“Very big,” said United defender Zico Bailey, who assisted on Amang’s goal. “We showed fight as a team, coming back a man down and at least we got something from the game. We finished strong and we can build from there.”

NMU coach Dennis Sanchez had similar feelings.

“I loved the comeback,” Sanchez said, “but we’re still trying to find that consistent form. We’ve had a lot of roster changes and we’re still trying to figure out what our best group is, too. Hopefully, the fight we showed late is a step in a positive direction.”

Las Vegas and New Mexico swapped several players recently and two of them immediately made their presence felt Saturday night.

Noel, playing his first home match with United, got the fans energized even before many had taken their seats. Noel saw Las Vegas goalkeeper Raiko Arozarena off his line and lofted a long over him from the left sideline. The ball slipped into the upper left corner of the goal to put NMU in front 1-0 in the fifth minute.

The lead would not last long.

Anthony Herbert, recently traded to Lights FC from New Mexico, bit his former club by bouncing a header into the net off a Gennaro Nigro corner kick in the 12th minute. Herbert’s first goal of the season made the score 1-1, where it stayed until halftime.

Much as it did in last week’s 5-2 loss in Tulsa, United came out sputtering to start the second half. Pinned in its defensive end, NMU picked up three yellow cards in a quick span — the final two shown to defender Talen Maples, who entered as a second-half substitute.

Maples’ resulting red card left New Mexico a man down in the 67th minute and Las Vegas would capitalize seven minutes later. Johnny Rodriguez drove past a fallen NMU defender on the right wing and crossed to Nighte Pickering, who escaped his defender and banged the ball past goalkeeper Chris Shakes for a 2-1 lead.

But just when it looked like New Mexico was on its way to a fifth straight loss, United suddenly amped up its intensity. With several substitutes — including Amang — entering the game, United began applying consistent pressure despite its man disadvantage.

It paid off when Bailey settled a long lead pass at the top of the Las Vegas box and passed to Amang on his left. Amang zipped a shot past a diving Arozarena to even the score and fire up the large crowd.

“It’s a disappointing result,” defender Will Seymore said. “A game like this at home, we definitely want three points. But the end is something we can build on. We dug it out a man down. I think it’s a positive.”

Shots ended up even at 13 with Las Vegas holding a 4-2 edge in shots on target. United finished with 53% of possession in spite of its man disadvantage in the second half.

Moments from NM United match against the Las Vegas Lights