MERCEDES — The Brownsville Porter Cowboys cruised by the Roma Gladiators 5-1 courtesy of a hat trick by Martin Gonzalez and a first-half brace from Alessandro Lara on Monday night at Tiger Stadium.
With the inability of Roma to clear its lines effectively with long balls, Porter kept the Gladiators pinned in their own half for extensive amounts of the dominating first half.
Cowboys long shots and through balls greatly benefited from the wind. Porter nearly went up early after Lara played in Julian Gallegos, but the keeper went down well to keep Gallegos out.
Lara grabbed his first goal during the 16th minute, curling in a free kick from 40 yards out that fooled the Roma keeper and snuck in at the far post.
“My mother told me I needed to score to help the team tonight,” he said. “The team needed goals tonight and I was able to deliver, thank the Lord.”
Gonzalez struck a beauty three minutes later. He hit it well from outside side of the box to find the top corner, and there was nothing the keeper could do.
“I grabbed the ball, hesitated, and after the faint I shot it and it went in, thank god. With the wind, we had to score as many goals as we could,” he said.
Lara got his brace in the 25th minute with another blast from outside the box. Gonzalez notched his minutes later, after Gallegos hung up a beautiful cross to the back post for Gonzalez to smash in.
Roma had moments where it held the ball well in the first half and won free kicks, but the set piece opportunities were easily dealt with.
The Gladiators pulled one back 17 seconds into the second half. Striker Esteban Gonzalez Cano pounced on an opportunity in the box to cut into the lead.
Porter can play in any condition and outplayed the Gladiators in the second half. Martin Gonzalez created space to finish with his right foot during the 67th minute, earning his hat trick.
“Without my teammates I could not have done it, and the fans helped by being here and motivating us to win these games and hopefully go to state,” he said.
