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Real Maryland (3-10-1) commences its two-day fixture commitments in North Carolina with a crucial clash against the Wilmington Hammerheads (2-7-6) on Friday at 7:30PM at the Legion Soccer Complex.

The Monarchs are still 9th in the USL-2 ladder but left Bermuda last weekend with a much needed point, after the two sides drew 0-0. The Caribbean team had several opportunities to score but was denied time and again by Real Maryland goalkeeper Emilio Zelaya. The Salvadoran was in perfect form between the posts and made a vital save for the Monarchs against Hogges’ striker Ajame Zuill’s penalty kick in the 61st minute.

“I looked over to the bench and saw [back-up goalkeeper] Oscar Araujo pointing to the right,” explains Zelaya on his save. “I trusted him and that’s where I dove. Hopefully I don’t have to do the same again this weekend.”

Wilmington are currently 7th in the standings after going down at home 4-3 to local rivals Charlotte. The Hammerheads will be aiming to quickly bounce back from its narrow defeat and will be looking to Brian Cvilikas and Trey Alexander to lead the team’s revival. Both players have been in blistering form the season, managing to find the net on 5 separate occasions each so far. They were both on the score sheet against the Eagles last weekend.

“We will be working on preventing counter attacks in training this week,” remarks Real Maryland defender Daryl Ferguson. “If we can stop Wilmington early enough, we will not be under as much pressure.”

The Monarchs won its previous encounter against the Hammerheads 2-1 at home back in May. The team will travel to the Legion Soccer Complex this Friday with the intention of repeating the result.

Real Maryland supporters are encouraged to make the drive down to Wilmington in what promises to be an exciting fixture.