Lightning strikes again: Amang's stoppage time goal a winner for United

New Mexico United seemed out of sync and a bit out of sorts Saturday night.

Thomas Amang fixed all of that in the blink of an eye.

A late second-half substitute, Amang slammed home a redirected goal in stoppage time to help United pull out a 1-0 victory to the delight of 10,219 fans at Isotopes Park.

It was the third straight 1-0 win for New Mexico, which has made a habit of keeping its fans in suspense this season. United scored late in each of its 1-0 wins and Amang’s goal was its second stoppage-time winner this season.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Amang, who came on in the 84th minute and was making his first appearance with NMU. “Just the cheering of the fans when we scored, amazing. I’ll remember that for a long time.”

United improved to 4-1-0 and pulled even with San Antonio and one point behind Monterey Bay atop the USL Championship Western Conference standings. Despite his team’s razor-thin margin for error in five straight one-goal decisions, New Mexico coach Dennis Sanchez was all smiles after the win.

“I’m proud of the guys and I think we deserved it,” Sanchez said. “Obviously I’d like to see us score a little earlier, but we stayed true to our game plan and in the end it paid off for us.”

United certainly had the better of possession with a whopping 77% and ended up with a 12-9 shot advantage but put only two on target. The decisive shot came after a scramble in front of the North Carolina goal, with two Will Seymore shots that were blocked.

The ball rolled back to McKinze Gaines open on the wing, and his blast found Amang, who redirected it past NCFC goalkeeper Jake McGuire to touch off a celebration.

“It happened so fast,” Amang said. “The ball was bouncing around and it came back to me. I just tried to get a shot as fast as I could.”

The late goal put extra luster on a third straight clean sheet for New Mexico goalkeeper Alex Tambakis and his back line. United’s defense was not tested often but rose to the occasion when necessary.

“We have a lot of possession, which means we defend less,” defender Kalen Ryden said. “That can be tricky, but our back line is so tuned in. We have constant communication and it’s been effective for us.”

Saturday’s first half was an exercise in frustration for United and its fans. The home team held 70% of the possession but was unable to sustain pressure or connect over the top against North Carolina’s defense.

Each team had just one shot on target as the match went to intermission even at 0-0.

It was familiar territory for United, which was scoreless at halftime in each of its previous two matches. It was not by design, but neither was it unexpected, Ryden said.

“We knew it was going to be a very difficult game, similar to the game we played against El Paso,” he said. “It’s tough to break down a team that defends like that, but we knew if we stayed the course, we’d have a chance to get a goal — and we got one.”

New Mexico had precious few scoring chances until the closing minutes, and it seemed Saturday might end up as a story about the ones that got away. Seymore could not get a foot on an open chance in front in the 68th minute, and Amang sent a shot into the side netting in the 89th.

But all’s well that ends well, Sanchez said.

“If you come away with a draw, you always want more,” he said. “When you get three points in a match like this, you feel like you got what you deserved.”

Ryden, who celebrated his birthday Saturday, agreed.

“It may not have been the most entertaining game for the fans,” he said, “but it’s a win. That’s what matters. It’s a (birthday) present, too. I’ll take it.”

New Mexico United defeats North Carolina FC: Photos