Don't be fooled by the Fort Lauderdale Strikers' 1-0-3 start to the NASL Fall Season.

It has since soured with back-to-back losses, the latest coming Wednesday in a 2-1 setback against Atlanta at Silverbacks Park.

And to make the defeat even harder to swallow, three Strikers players were ejected with direct red cards in the second half. Team leading scorer Stefano Pinho, Karsten Smith and James Marcelin each won't be available Saturday for a home match against the New York Cosmos.

To clarify, the Strikers simply lost their composure in the final six minutes of the match

The Strikers (1-2-3) have no one to blame but themselves in the second half of the season. They've made it hard in the effort to earn a victory, having trailed in four of the six matches played to date.

Though the first half against Atlanta (4-2-1) was much better than the awful display in the loss to the Cosmos on Sunday, the Strikers still trailed 1-0 at the break on a Pedro Mendes goal in the 41st minute.

It was the sixth time this season the Strikers have allowed a goal in the final five minutes of a half.

Midfielder Walter Ramirez evened the score at 1-1 for the Strikers with his third goal of the season in the 49th minute from a sharp angle off the end line.

Mendes added his third goal of the season against the Strikers in the 66th minute for a 2-1 advantage.

Strikers coach Gunter Kronsteiner started Pinho and Jose Angulo together for only the third time this season. He got little contribution from either forward.