A tense weekend of action saw a mid-table logjam begin to form in League One, but in this week’s five third we’re going to start off with a game that had no impact on the standings but continued to put one flamingo-loving club on the map.

HISTORIC NIGHT FOR FLAMINGOS: How excited were Forward Madison FC’s players to face the Bundesliga’s Hertha Berlin in the club’s first international exhibition last Friday night?

“The guys were excited. A lot of them didn’t want to come out, a lot of them wanted to keep playing, but we had to be smart about minutes,” said FMFC Head Coach Daryl Shore after the clash at Breese Stevens Field.

And honestly, who can blame them? A club-record, sold-out crowd of 4,731 fans packed into the venue to see one of Germany’s historic clubs take a 4-0 victory against the League One upstarts, but at the end of the night the result was the farthest thing from anyone’s mind as the Flamingos continued to establish themselves as one of the fastest-growing clubs in the United States.

“These fans are the best in the league without a doubt, I’ve said it multiple times,” FMFC forward Brian Bement said. “It’s not even close honestly. I mean, they just have so much energy. Obviously, there were more people today which brings more energy, but I just love playing here. It’s an absolute blast and they bring it every single day.”

WINNING COMBINATION: It certainly isn’t a foolproof formula, but the performance by Toronto FC II’s Jordan Perruzza and Jacob Shaffelburg on Friday evening that led the Reds to a 1-0 win against FC Tucson in their home opener seemed the sort that could put the side right back in the middle of the race for the postseason as their home slate starts to pick up. The duo combined for the only goal of the game, Shaffelburg’s clipped cross perfectly placed for Perruzza to head home after Perruzza had began the move himself with a surging run from midfield. TFC II probably should have added to its lead as well, only for some good goalkeeping by Tucson’s Philip Ejimadu and slack finishing to leave Perruzza’s goal as the lone tally of the night, but there was enough here to give reason for optimism moving forward.

ANY WHICH WAY YOU CAN: There was very little good about Chattanooga Red Wolves SC’s performance on Saturday night. The hosts – entering on a four-game winless streak – hadn’t even put a shot on goal as the game ticked into second-half stoppage time as Greenville Triumph SC had dominated the chances if not the possession at David Stanton Field. And then, in the fourth minute of stoppage time, all of that suddenly didn’t matter nearly as much as Eamon Zayed’s goal lifted the Red Wolves to victory and into fifth place in the League One standings. We said before the weekend began that Chattanooga needed some kind of reset as it returned home, and while this performance didn’t give them close to that – on another day Triumph SC would have won handily – it did give the Red Wolves a vital three points.

OFF TARGET: On the flipside, Greenville will have to be careful its loss in Chattanooga doesn’t deal its confidence a serious blow after another fruitless night in front of goal. Triumph SC produced 14 shots, four of which found the target, but once again was unable to find the back of the net as its league-worst conversion rate continued to sink. There should be much more for Greenville to feel positive about after Saturday night, especially given it’s still in a good position sitting fourth in the standings, but the side is going to have to start scoring soon for its confidence not to be affected.

DRAWN AND QUARTERED: With three points separating third and 10th place in the League One standings, and the team at the bottom of that group having taken maximum points from its last two games and the team in third having dropped consecutive outings, the season beyond the top two sides is playing out about as unpredictably as you could hope for. In the middle of all of it is Lansing Ignite FC, which took its fourth consecutive draw on Saturday while also becoming the first side to take points home from Erk Russell Field after a 0-0 draw with South Georgia Tormenta FC. Lansing didn’t have much chance to light the blue touch paper in attack against Tormenta FC, failing to register a shot on goal, and will need to find a way to start putting together wins soon if it’s going to challenge for the second two playoff berths, but as long as everyone else is consistently up-and-down, sitting in the middle isn’t a bad thing either.