BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ? Brandon Stewart registered his second game-winning goal of the week to lift Kentucky to a 2-1 victory over No. 17 UAB on Saturday night at West Campus Field.
In a wild second-half that featured all three goals, 24 fouls, seven yellow cards and one red card, Stewart was the star. He headed home the winner off of Jamal Shteiwi?s corner kick in the 78th minute.
?Our team showed unbelievable heart and guts tonight,? said Kentucky coach Ian Collins. ?We?ve worked so hard and this is a very tough place to play. I think this will give us momentum going into the MAC Tournament. Our players wanted this one and I?m so happy for them.?
The win snapped a seven-game home winning streak for UAB (9-6). It was the first win for Kentucky (11-4-3) over a ranked foe since beating No. 12 Akron last year.
?Our boys worked and worked and got an unbelievable result,? said Collins. ?To come on the road in a tough environment against a quality team and win shows unbelievable guts by our team. I am so proud of them. What a great result for our team.?
The second half began on a good note for the Wildcats. Just 21 seconds in, Michael Strong beat goalkeeper Jeremy Drake from 15 yards out on the right side. It was his fifth goal this year, which ranks second on the team.
Following the goal the Blazers began to force the action, looking for the equalizer. Kentucky goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum thwarted one opportunity in the 52nd minute with a tremendous save diving to his left.
In the 63rd minute, the entire make up of the game changed on a call by the center official. Strong and UAB?s Michael Biggs collided near midfield going for a loose ball and remained down as the official let play go on.
After a few seconds, play was finally halted to tend to the injured players. When the contest resumed, UAB was awarded a direct kick from straight away, just outside the penalty box.
Despite a vehement protest by the Kentucky coaches, the Blazers Sandy Gbandi bent the kick inside the upper left corner to knot the game.
The officiating only became more suspect after the goal as the Wildcats were booked six times in the final 17 minutes. Kentucky was called for 21 second half fouls to just three for UAB.
The corner kick the Wildcats scored on was one of just two they earned in the second half. The Blazers controlled much of the possession in the second half with help from the free kicks received after fouls.
The first half played out as one might expect with neither team seizing a definitive advantage. The Blazers led at the half in shots, 8-7, and corner kicks, 4-2. However, neither offense was able to muster a tremendous scoring chance.
?In the first half we started a little slow and I give UAB credit for that,? Collins said. ?We were a little tentative in the first half so we switched some things around. We tried some different things.?
Kentucky returns to action on Sunday in the Mid-American Conference Tournament. The Wildcats are the No. 1 seed in the tournament and will play the winner of Western Michigan and Marshall.
