Fort Wayne FC and AV ALTA FC played out a goalless draw in USL League One action on Saturday, with neither side able to find a breakthrough in a fractious affair at times dominated by the referee's notebook.
The first half set the tone early. Fort Wayne's Reid Sproat was cautioned in the 26th minute, and AV ALTA's Maboumou Alassane followed him into the book seven minutes later. The cards kept coming before the break, but clear-cut chances did not.
Things escalated after halftime. Alassane picked up a second yellow in the 47th minute, a booking that under normal circumstances would result in a dismissal. Just four minutes later, the match saw two more cautions in quick succession — Fort Wayne's Jon Paul Jordan II and AV ALTA's Adam Aoumaich both shown yellow in the 51st minute. AV ALTA's Denzil Smith was booked in the 67th minute, and Fort Wayne's Tiago Dias received the seventh and final yellow deep in stoppage time.
In total, the referee brandished seven yellow cards across the 90 minutes — three to Fort Wayne, four to AV ALTA — as the match grew increasingly scrappy in the second half. Whatever attacking intent either side carried into the game was gradually smothered by fouls and stoppages.
The point does little for either team's ambitions, with both sides likely needing wins rather than draws as the USL League One season moves deeper into the summer stretch.
USL League One