The Third Half - Week 5
Welcome to CBS, A Weekend For Goals Galore or No Goals at All
Now this was an interesting weekend.
Games fell on two sides of the spectrum, goals galore potential instant classics or snooze fests where chances were lacking. Only one game qualified in the middle ground. So what did we witness and what have we learned, let’s find out below.
FC Tulsa 3 Phoenix Rising 3: Here is our full time report of this instant classic.
Hartford Athletic 3 Miami FC 2: On an afternoon that allowed for up tempo football, it would be Hartford Athletic taking two goal leads twice in the contest, but ultimately have to hold on to win 3-2 after a late own goal and Miami FC corner kick with essentially the last chance of the match.
Miami FC came out ultimately in a 4-2-3-1 that looked to do one thing when Hartford had possession, disrupt the middle of the pitch and the passing lanes Hartford likes to play through. Early on it didn’t matter much as the game started fast and open, both sides winning early corner kicks for their respective teams.
The first half was an interesting dichotomy, Miami FC the better team on the ball but Hartford Athletic having better chances. That would start in the eleventh minute, an interplay between Deshane Beckford and Marcus Epps resulting in a Beckford shot being blocked. A minute later was the first potential flashpoint in the game after Thomas Vancaeyezeele won the ball from a Daniel Gagliardi goal kick. Hartford would play down the left, a first timer from the centering ball by Beckford going off the chest, then arm of Alejandro Mitrano. From my eyes it was never a penalty, but Anderson Asiedu has to do better with the follow up as his follow up sliced wide of the far post. Miami FC’s best chance of the half came in the 22nd minute when Mitrano linked with Andrew Booth and Mattia Gagliardi. Gagliardi’s centering ball was put perfectly for Frank Lopez to bury as Lopez split Joseph Farrell and Vancaeyezeele, but Lopez’s final product was a sliced header wide of the far post, a serious chance gone begging.
Hartford Athletic should have gone ahead on the half hour. Deshane Beckford would win the ball off Nicholas Cardona and go on a 70 yard solo run, ending inside the box when Samiel Biek took Beckford down as the ball was already past the Miami FC defender. It was an obvious penalty for the referee to give. Another obvious moment in the sequence was how awful Romario Williams penalty kick was, telegraphed all the way allowing Daniel Gagliardi to easily save, the corner wasted.
The one glaring issue for Miami FC was how poor they were in the final third in the opening half. Once Miami would get into the final third the pace would either speed up too fast or slow down allowing Hartford to set their lines. The consequence of this was Hartford was allowed to work their counter attacking game into form, something that would pay off on the stroke of the forty-five. Hartford would win the ball from a horrible Miami corner Deshane Beckford was off to the races. A 1-2 later with Andreson Asiedu allowed Beckford to essentially be 1 v 1 with Daniel Gagliardi, who decided his choice was to be 40 yards off the line. Beckford rounded Gagliardi with absolute ease and with 20 yards to goal put his shot toward the sticks, the ball rolling in. The goal might have been against the run of play in a traditional sense, but not against the run of chances Hartford had in the opening half. 1-0 was the fair scoreline as Miami FC did nothing in the final third and Hartford was putting an effort in once they got there. Hartford will also be unhappy they weren’t two to the good because of the poor quality of the penalty.
Miami FC would respond by bring on Gabriel Cabral and Jordan Ayimbiala to stabilize the midfield and match the pace Hartford showed on the counter attack. It didn’t work early. Michee Ngalina and Romario Williams opened the second half like they were finally in the match, Romario Williams curler from the edge of the penalty area forcing Daniel Gagliardi to handle on the far post. Ten minutes into the second half the self-inflicted set piece trauma struck Miami FC again to double Hartford Athletic’s advantage. From Jay Chapman’s delivery, the ball would travel to the edge of the near six-yard box. Joseph Farrell would flick it far post where Romario Williams was waiting. Williams easily was able to get in front of Samuel Biek to finish into the empty net, Daniel Gagliardi cheating near post and unable to get back in time.
The second goal finally woke Miami FC out of their final third slumber, finally playing with some desperation. The first time Paul Walters was called into action would be the 58th minute, Allen Gavilanes taking Rocco Genzano’s pass and firing on goal before Joseph Farrell could get there to cover. Walters was strong to the task to parry over for the corner, that went nowhere. The 64th minute would see Andrew Booth in space from a Gavilanes pass, putting a dipping shot on goal from 22 yards out. Walters did well to tip it over for a corner and another Miami FC blown set piece chance. Four minutes later Andrew Booth would get another chance from 20, Walters forced to palm out for a corner. The chances were coming, but the second phase off the corner kicks were severely lacking.
The pressure would pay off for Miami FC with fourteen minutes to play. After sustained possession in their attacking third, the ball would fall to Luis Pedro, his shot deflected right into the path of Gabriel Cabral. Cabral knew he had to fire quick as Joey Akpunonu and Beverly Makangila gave him a perfect shooting path towards goal. Cabral’s effort with pace gave Paul Walters no chance to stop it and at 2-1 it was game on.
Second half stoppage time would bring all the chaos. Hartford Athletic were able to add a third in second half stoppage time after a poor Gabriel Cabral pass fell to Marcus Epps. A pass to an unmarked Enoch Mushagalusa later saw a shot deflected off the Miami FC keeper and in to make it 3-1. A minute later, shambolic defending from Hartford Athletic saw a long ball make it 3-2 off the head of Joseph Farrell when Thomas Vancaeyezeele’s poor attempt at a clearance bounced off Farrell’s head and into the net. A late Miami FC corner went through everyone, Hartford Athletic able to survive until the fulltime whistle blew.
Miami FC slept walk in the final third in the opening hour of this contest. It was only after going 2-0 down before they finally started showing what they had in the opening month of the season. Hartford Athletic are still a work in progress, but a team in progress that is getting results. I do feel they let their foot off the gas once going 2-0 up, and instead of playing to put the game out of sight, ended up having to hand on for dear life. One does wonder what would happen if Miami FC did have any shots of consequence between pulling one back and going 3-1 down. On the balance of play Hartford deserved the three points, Miami FC not playing for a half ultimately being the difference in this one.
Louisville City FC 5 Indy Eleven 3: Wilson Harris’s hat trick will be the standout highlight as USL’s debut on CBS would see Louisville City blowout Indy Eleven 5-3.
After the briefest of feeling out periods, Louisville City took a grip on this match and would lead on the quarter hour. After a long ball was played to Wilson Harris, Harris had the freedom to run into the penalty area. Harris’s centering ball to Ray Serrano was behind the forward but ended up finding the trailing Jake Morris. Morris waited for Wilson Harris to get back onside, lay the ball back to Harris, who would get his shot off before Josh O’Brien could get back to cover. Yannik Oettl had little time to react and as he got the fists together to punch the ball it was already by the Indy Eleven keeper and in, the far post assisting on the goal. The persistent early pressure finally rewarded for the hosts.
It would take midway through the first half for Indy Eleven to put anything on frame, a long distance blast by Jack Blake from a Cam Lindley pass attempted to catch the tracking back Louisville City defense off guard. The only thing stopping it from being a quality effort was the fact it was 2 yards over the crossbar. Minutes later, Wilson Harris would set up Taylor Davilla, the left post the only thing preventing Louisville City going 2-0 in front as Yannik Oettl was late to the dive.
The first sustained possession for Indy Eleven would come in the 32nd minute, and the visitors would see their reward a minute later. Jack Blake would force Damian Las into a save, the second phase of the attack ending when Jake Morris took out Younes Boubadi from behind on the end line. The referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, Jack Blake going down the middle to equalize. It might have been against the run of play but when you make as poor a decision as Morris did to concede the penalty you can’t be angry about the scoreline.
The game wouldn’t be level for long as Louisville City would be back in front six minutes later. Jake Morris, making up for his boneheaded penalty concession, played a perfect ball down the left to Wilson Harris. Harris was able to get to the penalty area and put a ball across the box. Jansen Wilson would continue his run from the back and be in the right spot to collect and fire on goal before Aeden Stanley could get back in the position he should have been in the entire time. Yannik Oettl was caught cheating toward Wilson Harris and never in the picture as Louisville City regained the lead 2-1.
The game looked to be put out of reach five minutes into the second half. Once Louisville City was able to withstand the early pressure from Indy Eleven they would take control again. The move would start with Adrien Perez beating Max Schneider and putting the ball into Wilson Harris. Harris’s shot was deflected, and instead of out for a corner headed back into play brilliantly by Ray Serrano. Serrano, kept onside by Younes Boubadi, found an unmarked Elijah Wynder from 5 yards for the simple headed finish for his first career goal. At 3-1, with the pressure Louisville City was applying, this game felt over.
Indy Eleven must have believed the same way and they finally started to play with urgency. Yannik Oettl’s free kick found Jack Blake on the run, Blake allowed the freedom to run in the midfield. Blake would spring the pass out wide to Sebastian Guenzatti, opening up the Louisville City defense. Guenzatti waited as long as he could before his centering pass found Jack Blake, his one timer far post catching everyone off guard. The lead would be two for nine minutes, and while the game still felt over it was at least game on at 3-2.
Louisville City would regain the scoreboard dominance three minutes later. This time Louisville City would win a long ball in the midfield, the ball falling to the feet of Adrien Perez. Perez would spring Wilson Harris on the run, Harris having beaten Josh O’Brien. Harris would continue the solo run to round Yannick Oettl and finish into the empty net, making it 4-2. It was a goal in six touches and showed Louisville City wasn’t going to let the scoreboard stay to close for too long.
Wilson Harris would complete his hat trick, and make it 5-2, on a questionable goal decision in the 71st minute. It was quick passes between Adrien Perez, Taylor Davilla and Rey Serrano. Serrano’s pass to Wilson Harris looked to be late with Harris behind Tyler Gibson and Aedan Stanley, Harris just putting the ball in at the far post after getting 1 v 1 with Yannik Oettl. Stanley was already demanding an offside call, Gibson switched off just enough to be beaten, and Yannik Oettl was angry at the world for how shambolic Indy Eleven’s defense was playing and for not seeing the offside flag raised.
The game would nearly boil over in the 75th minute when Aedan Stanley made the most of the contact from Ray Serrano, Stanley rolling up on his arm rolling on the ground. Damian Las decided he be an idiot and have words with Douglas Martinez and then Aedan Stanley as the tempers flared. While no punches were thrown, it took two different Louisville City players to get control of the soon to be booked Damian Las.
Indy Eleven would add a consolation third off a free kick taken by Cameron Lindley cleared out to Tyler Gibson. His first time effort looked to be covered by Damian Las, until the deflection off Naill McCabe sent the ball towards Gibson’s near post. Louisville City’s efforts to turn this into a Cardinals 6-3 win over the Bulldogs on the gridiron kept finding the side netting in second half stoppage time.
I don’t know what this game devolved into but it wasn’t one of structured football. I also can’t remember a game where a team, Indy Eleven in this instance, was second best and yet scored three goals that didn’t matter. Each time Indy Eleven would respond with a goal, Louisville City wouldn’t let it stand for long before restoring the advantage on the scoresheet. Each Louisville City move forward had purpose, each of Indy Eleven’s goals were scored by accident. Danny Cruz is going to be angry at the scoresheet and he should be. Even if you give Indy Eleven the penalty this game should have ended 7-1.
Elsewhere in the USL Championship
Detroit City FC 1 North Carolina FC 0: A Nelson Blanco Flores own goal was the difference as Detroit City FC kept their unbeaten start to the season alive in a 1-0 victory over North Carolina FC.
Detroit City would take the lead thanks to a counter attack in the ninth minute. The ball would be played down the right by Brett Levis to Rhys Williams. Williams would beat Lamar Batista, get parallel to the six yard box extended right before putting a ball across the face of goal. The ball would deflect off the foot of Nelson Blanco Flores, Antonio Carrera unable to redirect his momentum as the ball would go in on the near post. The run for Williams deserved a finish, yet it was unfortunate for North Carolina FC all the same as the ball from Williams had the look of going out for a goal kick before it was redirected in.
It would be after the half hour before North Carolina would find a shot of note, Oalex Anderson getting to the end line and finding Rodrigo da Costa. Da Costa will want the effort back as it went onto the roof of the seats behind the goal. Rafael Mentzingen would take an intercept ball and put an effort wide of the near post minutes later.
Detroit City had their chance on the forty-five to double the advantage. Ali Coote would get on the left wide, cut inside to beat Rafael Mentzingen and put a shot towards goal that was deflected, Rhys Williams unable to get to the deflection in time.
Rodrigo da Costa would give North Carolina FC their first chance to equalize in the second half 2 minutes from the hour, the header off the corner forcing Nathan Steinwascher to tip the ball over for a corner. To start the 75th minute, Oalex Anderson would take on the double team and still find Rodrigo da Costa, his effort from 20 finding the near post, the best chance of the afternoon for North Carolina FC. It would also be their last chance as Detroit City would be able to hold on from here to pick up their fourth straight win to start the season.
Memphis 901 FC 0 Orange County SC 2: Two goals in 3 minutes after the hour mark were enough for Orange County SC to pick up a comprehensive 2-0 victory on the road against Memphis 901 FC.
After an opening half hour of half chances at best, Memphis 901 FC would be the first to make a keeper think twice. After Marlon won the ball on the right hand touchline he was able to get inside the penalty area, his first shot blocked. The ball would come right back to Marlon, his second effort would be blocked right into the path of Zach Duncan, his blast through traffic only missing the near post by inches. Colin Shutler did look to have it covered, but it would have been a close call.
Memphis 901 FC should have taken the lead a minute into the second half. After Zach Duncan won the ball off Kevin Partida, the intercept touch would fall to Bruno Lapa. Lapa’a pass to Neco Brett was too close to Colin Shutler who was able to disrupt play enough for the ball to be cleared right into the path of Zach Duncan, who would sky the follow-up opportunity. It was an opportunity Memphis should have burned, instead it remained 0-0.
Bruno Lapa minutes later would take Zach Duncan’s cross and put it right into the path of Colin Shutler who made the easy regulation save. The 50th minute would see Abdoulaye Cissoko spring the counter attack by winning the ball and setting up Neco Brett. Brett saw Dylan Borczak on the run and timed the pass perfectly, Borczak already beating two Orange County players. Borczak would get inside the 18 turn a defender and put a shot near post that forced Shutler to palm the ball out for a corner. Through 50 minutes Memphis 901 FC should have been at least 2-0 to the good. It wouldn’t be long before they paid the price for those misses.
Just after the hour, Orange County SC would be in front. After Orange County won possession in the midfield, the ball would fall to Thomas Amang. Amang would spot Cameron Dunbar on the left, and put a blast on goal from 18 before Carson Vom Steeg could get back into position. The shot would be touched, not saved by Tyler Deric. The ball would continue to roll allowing Brian Iloski to beat Luiz Fernando to the ball to finish putting it over the end line from 2 yards out. It may have been cruel on Memphis 901 FC but the first real chance of consequence for Orange County found the back of the net, the visitors leading 1-0.
Right after the kickoff Orange County would end the game as a contest. After the restart, Zach Duncan would lose the ball thanks to an Owen Lamb challenge. Lamb would spot Cameron Dunbar and spring the quick counter attacking pass. Dunbar didn’t keep the ball long, just long enough to settle the ball and catch Thomas Amang on the run between Carson Vom Steeg and Abdoulaye Cissoko. The pass split both and Amang touch the ball until his body was in position to shoot, and he didn’t have to do much with it but put it under the diving Tyler Deric 12 yards off his line with a deft toe poke. Orange County didn’t have to do much in this sequence as they caught Memphis 901 FC completely unaware.
Orange County was able to easily see the game out from here to pick up 3 key away points and keep their unbeaten start to season alive, relegating Memphis 901 FC to their third straight defeat.
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 0 Tampa Bay Rowdies 0: In a game that defined the sound of fury signifying absolutely nothing, it will be the Tampa Bay Rowdies who will be happy this contest ended nil-nil.
Robbie Mertz is going to want the chance he had in the eighth minute back. The ball would be worked in Kazaiah Sterling. His pass to Mertz was heavy, but the touches off the Tampa Bay Rowdies defenders ended up right in the perfect location for Mertz to fire on the volley. That volley, never found the frame and instead would be yards wide. What we didn’t know then was that would be the story of the night.
The 20th minute would see the Riverhounds get their best chance of the night. Luke Biasi would play a quick free kick to Junior Etou, his centering ball to Patrick Hogan should have been finished. His shot was on frame, but right at Aaron Guillen who was on the line to clear it. If the shot was six inches in either direction that is likely 1-0.
Kazaiah Sterling would again play a good ball into the mixer in the 41st minute, Edward Kizza unable to put the bouncing ball on frame and blasting over from eight yards out.
Lewis Hilton has the best chance of the second half with 9 minutes to play. Off a free kick on the edge of the D, Hilton put the ball near post. If there was about a foot more height on the shot Eric Dick has no hope of saving it. Unfortunately for Hilton, he placed the free kick at the right height for the Riverhounds keeper to easily save the chance.
When it was all said and done the Rowdies will be happy to play as poorly as they did and still get a point. Credit does go to their back 3 who were in the right positions all night. The Riverhounds, at least they built on their last performance but are sorely lacking anyone on the squad who has a final product to offer.
Rhode Island FC 0 Charleston Battery 0: On a wet miserable night in Rhode Island, both sides will rue their missed opportunities. Rhode Island first, then having to defend with 10 players it would be Charlston who will regret not finishing the chances started as the game would end 0-0.
It would take 36 minutes before a chance of consequence found the frame, a long ball from Adam Grinwis chested down into the path of Nick Markanich. Markanich would find Juan Torres, who cut inside before shooting, the shot ended up at Jackson Lee who easily collected. Two minutes later Rhode Island would get their first effort of note towards goal but Conor McGlynn’s settling shot was always going wide of the far post.
Rhode Island will rue the missed chance on 56 minutes. It was a classic counter attack off a corner kick, the cross-field pass by Mark Doyle ultimately won by Albert Dikwa. Dika spotted Stephen Turnbull unmarked from 12 yards out and put the centering ball in. Turnbull rushed the header, and right into the path of Adam Grinwis, a golden chance blown for the hosts.
Rhode Island would have the next best chance to find the opener 10 minutes later. Possession for Rhode Island would ultimately be worked down the left, Jojea Kwizera and Conor McGlynn played a 1-2 that resulted in McGlynn finding Joseph Brito, Brito’s effort pinging off the crossbar.
The game would change 3 minutes later when Conor McGlynn decided his choice would be to professional wrestling shoulder tackle Nathan Dos Santos instead of making any effort to play the ball. Having already been booked in the 28th minute, the referee was left with no choice but to issue the second yellow followed by the red. The next sequence would see Charleston’s best effort to that point in the evening, Juan Torres’s ball into the box deflecting off Gabriel Alves into the path of Nicholas Markanich, Markanich’s shot finding the outside of the near post. Juan Torres would be the recipient of a Matt Myers dummy from Leland Archer’s ball in, the shot though right into the path of Jackson Lee for the easy save.
Jackson Lee would have to be strong to one last challenge in second half stoppage time. A Nicholas Markanich cross found Matt Myers’s head perfectly, but the header was unable to be redirected at the far post, but was right at Jackson Lee who made the save and saw out the 0-0 draw.
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 0 Sacramento Republic FC 2: Two goals in the opening half hour were enough for Sacramento Republic to see out a comfortable 2-0 win on the road against Colorado Springs Switchbacks.
It would take 5 minutes for Trevor Amann to get back in the goal. Rodrigo Lopez started the sequence out the back and played the ball out wide right, Jack Gurr hugging the touchline as he ran down the park. Gurr would find Russell Cicerone central, who took on two defenders before laying off to Amann. All Amann had to do was beat Wahab Ackwei, which he did with ease, and fire near post. The keeper guessed far post and with Sacramento Republic’s first attack of the game they led 1-0.
It would take 24 minutes for Colorado Springs to come into the contest. The ball would be played out the back to Jairo Henriquez, who would spot Ronaldo Damus on the diagonal run, his shot deflected off Conor Donovan for a corner kick. Two minutes later Sacramento Republic would double their advantage. Lee Desmond would start the sequence to Nick Ross. Ross would play the pass to Russell Cicerone and from there Cicerone would work his magic. Cicerone would beat Ronald Damus and Steven Schevarria on the run and put his shot on the far post before Devon Williams could challenge. With Christian Herrera flat footed on the near post it was a simple finish for the visitors to go 2-0 to the good.
Jack Gurr in the 38th minute would get free inside the box, his shot right into the onrushing Christian Herrera. Trevor Amann to start the second half nearly tripled the lead for Sacramento Republic his shot far post just wide of target.
Colorado Springs would try to get back into the game. A 48th minute free kick from Quenzi Huerman was headed over from Wahab Ackwei, unable to get the ball down. Two minute later, Juan Tejada would win the ball and spot Yosuke Hanya the shot from 13 yards out skied over Daniel Vitiello and the crossbar. It was a chance that should have made it 2-1.
Colorado Springs nearly had a lifeline late when Quenzi Huerman found Tyreek Magee, Magee’s shot deflected forcing Daniel Vitiello into a diving save to keep the clean sheet. The result sees Sacramento Republic keep pace with Orange County atop the Western Conference.
New Mexico United 3 El Paso Locomotive FC 2: In a game that looked dominant for New Mexico United it would turn into a battle late as New Mexico United would have to come from a goal down late to pick up a 3-2 victory in a game El Paso was not involved with until the last 20 minutes of the match.
New Mexico United would nearly get the perfect start from a Greg Hurst free kick in the fifth minute. The free kick continued to rise when it should have dipped, missing the crossbar by only inches. Minutes later New Mexico would hit the front. Off a throw in, the ball would ultimately fall to Chris Gloster. Gloster would keep the ball moving down the left, first to Greg Hurst, Hurst then finding Dayonn Harris. Harris would get to the end line before centering to Marco Micaletto. Micaletto would blast one from 22 yards out through traffic, Jahmail Waite only seeing the ball once it was past him and into the back of the net.
It would be 37 minutes before El Paso said hello to the contest. A New Mexico United throw in would be won by Amando Moreno, his shot forcing Alex Tambakis to parry the ball out for a corner kick.
The second half would be rather mundane until El Paso Locomotive brought in Joaquin Rivas. It wouldn’t take long for the former Miami FC player to make his mark. The long ball would be played into Justin Dhillon, who would run to the end line and take Jon-Talen Maples and Anthony Herbert with him. That would allow Rivas to make his run into the penalty area uncontested. Dhillon spotted him, centered the ball and before New Mexico’s second line could get back Rivas had put the ball in at the far post. It was a goal that came out of nowhere but it was 1-1 in the blink of an eye.
The chaos would continue in the 86th minute. Joaquin Rivas started the sequence to Robinson Moshobane. Moshobane would spot Justin Dhillon just inside the penalty area and put the pass in. Zico Bailey from behind would miss the ball and end up clipping Dhillon’s ankles instead. With Dhillon going to ground from the horrible tackle it was an obvious decision to make. The former New Mexico United number 10, Amando Moreno would send Isotopes Park into shock by going to his right, Tambakis guessing the wrong way. Out of absolutely nothing El Paso Locomotive would lead 2-1.
Two minutes later the chaos factor would be ratcheted up by a factor of ten. Marco Micaletto would interplay with Arturo Astroga, the ball coming back to Micaletto. Micaletto would spot Jacobo Reyes on the run and play the ball into the box. With Reyes past Bolo Akinyode, and the entire El Paso back line looking for an offside that was never coming, Reyes put a looping header over the flat footed Jahmail Waite and in central. It was amazing what going down did to New Mexico United as their first attacking sequence after going down saw them level the match 2-2.
Second half stoppage time would see New Mexico United get the game winner. Chris Gloster would keep the ball in play from a Liam Rose shot that most thought had gone out for a goal kick. Gloster’s ball forward would find Dominick Hernandez, Hernandez quickly finding Daniel Bruce. Bruce would take on Akinyode and Lucas Stuaffer, everyone for El Paso forgetting that Hernandez was continuing the run. The only one who knew that Hernandez’s run was coming was Daniel Bruce, who would center the ball to an unmarked Hernandez who had to settle the ball and fire far post. Tony Alfaro was caught between two players and Waite was late to the far post dive and just like that New Mexico United completed the comeback to win 3-2.
Oakland Roots SC 0 Monterey Bay FC 1: A goal four minutes from the ninety was enough for Monterey Bay to survive the Oakland Roots 1-0, in a game that saw 4 red cards after the fulltime whistle.
Monterey Bay should have hit the front inside 3 minutes. A poor pass back to no one would be intercepted by Tristian Trager, his shot directly into the path of Paul Blanchette instead of picking a corner to shoot at. Oakland Roots showed what it means to have a defender on the line from a corner kick nine minutes later. Walmer Martinez’s corner would find Kai Green on the overhead kick. The ball was going in if not for Lindo Mfeka being there to clear the ball off the line. Tristian Trager picked a post out in the 29th minute, Paul Blanchette having to dive near post to collect.
Oakland Roots should have taken advantage of an Antony Siaha gift nine minutes into the second half. Siaha’s attempt to play out the back was poor and played to Jeciel Cedeno. Cedeno, with Siaha well off his line, put his shot on frame right where Siaha was standing. If the ball was sent far post the hosts would have been in front. Instead, Siaha easily collected the chance to keep the game goalless.
Oakland Roots thought they had taken the lead in the 81st minute, Bryan Tamacas playing a long ball towards Johnny Rodriguez. Play was allowed to continue, even though Rodriguez was two feet offside at the time the pass was made. That forced Siaha to punch the ball into the path of Irakoze Donasiyano who put the ball into the net, only then did we see the offside flag.
Monterey Bay would finally break the deadlock in the 86th minute. Kai Green would be strong to the challenge and clear the ball up field. Advantage was played which sent Monterey Bay off to the races. Adrian Rebollar would play the ball down the right to Morey Doner. Doner would keep the ball moving before centering to Mobi Fehr. Paul Blanchette would chase the ball played toward Fehr, allowing Fehr to move the ball onto Chase Boone. Boone would take advantage of Neveal Hackshaw slipping to put the ball into the back of an empty net.
The game would turn farcical after the fulltime whistle when backup keeper Carlos Herrera and Walmer Martinez would see red for Monterey Bay and Neveal Hackshaw and Baboucarr Njie seeing red for Oakland Roots in an altercation after the match.
Las Vegas Lights FC 1 San Antonio FC 0: A goal before the hour mark was enough for Las Vegas Lights to pick up their third win in a row and end San Antonio FC’s unbeaten start to the season 1-0.
After a first half of either half chances or shots directly at Raiko Arozarena or Pablo Sisneiga, Las Vegas Lights would take the first attacking opportunity of the second half and find gold. Off a throw in the ball would be played to Coleman Gannon. Gannon would find Jean-Claude Ngando, Ngando spotting Shawn Smart in space. Bura was too lackadaisical in defending Smart, allowing Smart to blast one through traffic from 23 yards out. Pablo Sisniega should have saved it but he was also too lackadaisical in making the dive, the ball rolling under the San Antonio keeper and in at he far post. This is what the Lights do, take advantage of the chances given to them and they did that here to lead 1-0.
After sustained possession in the 63rd minute, an attempted clearance would fall to Jean-Claude Ngando. Ngando laid the ball off to Valentin Noel who decided to blast from 30 yards, Pablo Sisniega just getting down to make the save.
San Antonio should have been level eight minutes later. Off a corner kick taken by Jorge Hernandez, the ball would fall to Carter Manley at the far post. Manley will regret not actually shooting the ball, his touch putting the ball well wide of goal from 3 yards out, Arozarena would have been beaten if Manley gets it near post.
Pablo Sisniega would have to be strong to the task in the 77th minute, Coleman Gannon playing the ball to Ngando before getting wiped out. Ngando on the run would spot Riki Alba and put the pass in through Kendall Burks. Alba put the first-time effort far post, Sisniega getting a finger tip to the ball to prevent it from going in. The resulting corner would go through the fingertips of Sisniega into the path of Emrah Kilmenta, who looked shocked the ball reached him and missed the near post by inches with his effort.
Jorge Hernandez would give San Antonio their best chance of the night in second half stoppage time, his free kick forcing Raiko Arozarena to tip the ball over the crossbar. No intervention by the Las Vegas keeper would have resulted in the equalizer. Las Vegas would see the game out from there.
Birmingham Legion FC 1 Loudoun United 1: Two goals in 7 minutes would be enough for Birmingham Legion FC to complete the comeback and defeat Loudoun United 3-1, Birmingham Legion picking up their second win of the season while handing Loudoun United their second straight loss.
Enzo Martinez would get the games first opportunity in the 11th minute, collecting Kobe Hernandez-Foster’s high bouncing pass but putting it wide of the near post. Zach Ryan’s free kick eight minutes later hit the far post for Loudoun United, Matt Van Oekel caught cheating too much on the near post. That would be it for the chances in the first half.
Loudoun United would take the first attacking chance of the second half in the 48th minute and take the lead. Off a free kick played to Abdellatif Aboukoura, he would get past AJ Patterson and continue the run. Aboukoura still had Kobe Hernandez-Foster to beat, Aboukoura able to easily get Hernandez-Foster turned. The shot from Aboukoura would come from 21 yards out and to the near post, too tall for Matt Van Oekel to save.
Tyler Prasher would try to go in alone to equalize from 30 yards out two minute later, unable to keep the ball on the far post. It was the first time all afternoon where anyone from Birmingham Legion showed any urgency.
The possession would continue to sustain for Bimingham Legion and would be rewarded in the 68th minute. Mujeeb Murana would win the ball off a goal kick and play to Etaka Preston. Preston would play a give and go with Enzo Martinez, Martinez backheeling to Preston on the run. Preston would continue his run, get past Drew Skundrich and Keegan Huges before centering the ball. The ball would end up behind Tyler Prasher, Yanis Leerman putting the final touch on the ball putting it into his own net. Loudoun United let their foot off the gas, Birmingham Legion would step on it and the game would be level. Enzo Martinez off the restart would continue the pressure on the Loudoun United goal, his shot from 30 speculative but not far away from the near post.
Birmingham Legion would hit the front 7 minutes later. It was a simple route one ball from recent substitute Dawson McCartney to Tyler Prasher. Prasher was effectively 1 v 1 with Jacob Eriandson going away from goal. Prasher collected the ball, was able to turn central with Eriandson not making a challenge on the ball. Once Prasher got the angle far post he put the shot on target, Hugo Fauroux a spectator as Birmingham Legion took the lead. In hindsight, Prasher having to go away from goal may have been what created the chance as it put Hugo Fauroux on the near post and was chasing back to the far post when the shot was being taken.
Birmingham Legion would add a third goal late. Matt Van Oekel, looking to just slam the ball as deep as he could blasted one to Dawson McCartney. McCartney would ultimately win the ball and swing the ball back to Miguel Perez. Perez would see the opening in the middle of the park and pass to Enzo Martinez. Martinez immediately saw Mujeeb Murana was already past Isaac Espinal put his pass forward. Murana would collect and fire from 22 far post to put the game out of sight with Hugo Fauroux’s feet cemented to the floor.
USL League One Roundup
Richmond Kickers 3 Central Valley Fuego FC 2: Richmond Kickers would see their lead evaporate 13 minutes into the second half, but they would be able to come from behind to score the game winner 17 minutes from time, defeating Central Valley Fuego FC 3-2.
Richmond was unfortunate to not be in front after 10 minutes, Maximiliano Schenfeld’s free kick saved when Carlos Avilez sat on the ball to keep it from going through the 5 hole. Richmond would quickly make that chance forgettable as they took the lead 8 minutes later. Richmond would play the ball out the back to Arthur Bousa, immediately finding Chandler O’Dwye. O’Dwye’s effort on goal was saved and put out for a throw in. The throw in would come to Simon Fitch, who would get to the end line and put his centering ball in to Arthur Bousa. Mouhamed Dabo and Clayton Torr would both track Bousa, a decision that ultimately would be a mistake as the ball would travel over the three of them into the path of Chandler O’Dwye. It would be an easy header from 7 yards far post with Carlos Avilez flat footed on the near post.
A defensive mistake from Richmond would bring Central Valley back into the game in the 32nd minute. A poor Pablo Jara pass to Griffin Garnett would be easily dispossessed by Robert Coronado. Garnett would go to ground allowing Coronado the easiest of passes into an empty net, Pablo Jara no where near the ball as it passed with Jara 15 yards from goal. It was a calamitous error from the Richmond defense to bring Central Valley back into the contest.
Central Valley would take the lead just before the hour. Robert Corando and second half substitute Omar Lemus would play a give and go allowing Lemus to get to the edge of the penalty area. From there, Lemus was able to put a cross in near post. Zahir Vasquez would beat Dakota Barnathan to the space, get low and have no problems heading the ball far post with Pablo Jara unable to react in time on the near post. For Central Valley Fuego, they thought it was comeback complete at 2-1.
The lead for Central Valley would only last 3 minutes. Off a poor Carlos Avilez restart the ball went right to Adrian Billhardt. Billhardt played his pass to Nil Vinyals and kept his run going. Vinyals allowed the defense to converge before putting a pass into the box back to Billhardt, who beat Ashkanov Apollon before finishing through the 5 hole of the Central Valley keeper to level the match again at 2-2.
Richmond Kickers would win the game 12 minutes later. Joao Silva would start the sequence to Simon Fitch, who would find the man who equalized Adrian Billhardt. Billhardt’s effort towards goal would be blocked right into the path of Nil Vinyals, who would also see an effort blocked. The ball would fall right into the path of Chandler O’Dwye who’s shot would go far post and in. The thing to the goal is if Omar Lemus hadn’t gone chasing Nil Vinyals’s shot he would have likely blocked the O’Dwye effort on goal.
Richmond Kickers would hold from there on to pick up their first win in 280 days.
Greenville Triumph SC 3 Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC 1: 3 goals in 12 minutes on either side of halftime were enough for Greenville Triumph to SC to keep their unbeaten season going in comprehensively defeating Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC 3-1.
After an opening half hour where Northern Colorado were marginally the better side Greenville Triumph would work themselves into the contest. A 34th minute long throw by Hayden Anderson was headed back into the path of Louis Herrera, his turf aided volley finding the crossbar with Edward Delgado beaten. The 40th minute would see Zion Scarlett take Lyam MacKinnon’s pass on the left hand edge of the penalty area and force Delgado into conceding a corner kick when the Northern Colorado keeper couldn’t handle the shot.
Three minutes later Greenville would win a penalty and go 1-0 in front. Hayden Anderson would keep play going down the right and play it back to Jamie Smith. Smith’s ball into the box would eventually fall to Lyam MacKinnon, where he was met with an immediate clumsy tackle by Isidro Martinez. While MacKinnon did get a shot off the referee had already decided to award the penalty. From my vantage point the clumsy nature of that challenge was the reason the referee gave it. Lyam MacKinnon would step up, got to his upper right and beat Edward Delgado who did guess correctly but was too low to save it.
Greenville would double their advantage 8 minutes into the second half. On a classic counter attack after a long Northern Colorado throw resulted in no effort on goal. Evan Lee played the ball across the midfield line to Leonardo Castro. Castro would feed Zion Scarlett, Scarlett’s pass to Louis Herrera looking too wide. What Jonny Fenwick and isdro Martinez didn’t realize was that Leonardo Castro had continued his run central, gotten past Noah Powder and was in position to take any centering pass offered. Herrera with the additional time found Castro running down the middle and made the pass, Castro with the simplest of finishes while everyone for Northern Colorado was chasing back. It was a classic counter attacking goal to put the hosts 2-0 in front.
The game would end as a contest 3 minutes later. Ben Zakowski and Zion Scarlett would play a 1-2 that would spring Scarlett down the right. Scarlett’s centering ball to be fair wasn’t the best, but was rewarded when Isdro Martinez couldn’t sweep the ball cleanly. Instead, the ball would slow up enough for Lyam MacKinnon to put a shot through the 5 hole of Edward Delgado to pick up a brace. It was another quick counter for Greenville Triumph to go 3-0 in front.
Northern Colorado would prevent the clean sheet in the 64th minute. Isdro Martinez would start the sequence to Enock Kwakwa. Kwakwa would switch the field of play with a pass to Jonny Fenwick who would ping a 30 yard pass to Jake Keegan. Keegan would take advantage of the overlapping run from Lucky Opara and play the pass to Opara. Opara had already beaten Hayden Anderson and before Brandon Fricke could get there on the challenge put the tight angle shot in at the far post to make 3-1.
The goal would give impetus to Northern Colorado as the remainder of the half would be the Hailstorm throw everything forward in hopes of getting back into the contest. The 84th minute would see Garner called into action from Noah Powder cross that found Irvin Parra, but headed at the keeper. That would ultimately be their best chance and Greenville Triumph moved to the top of the early season table with the result.
South Georgia Tormenta FC 3 Lexington SC 0: Two goals in the opening half hour were enough for South Georgia Tormenta FC to see the game out and comfortably defeat Lexington SC 3-0.
South Georgia would take advantage of a poor play out of the back to lead inside 8 minutes. The touch from Jayden Onen ended up right in the path of Philip Spengler. Spengler would work the ball to the edge of the 18 and find Jackson Khoury on the run. Khoury would get to the end line and center to Gabriel Rodriguez before Modesto Mendez could cover. Rodriguez would put a clever touch on the ball before Daniel Chica could get in position to defend and Austin Causey could get back from being on the outside of the near post to save. Poor play out the back saw immediate consequences as South Georgia went 1-0 in front.
South Georgia would continue to control things and in the 25th minute would win a penalty. Nicholas Akoto was given the freedom of the right hand side and played the ball to Pedro Fonseca on the edge of the penalty area. Fonseca worked his way through Daniel Chica, Chica eventually putting too much pressure on the shoulders of Fonseca who would go to ground. Personally, that felt a soft decision to give, but it was still a penalty nonetheless. Fonseca could have stayed on his feet, but went to ground and forced the referee to make a decision. Pedro Fonseca went low to his right and with the keeper going the wrong way made it 2-0 before the half hour.
Lexington would get their first chance on the half hour, Jayden Owen should have buried a chance from 8 yards out into an empty net. Instead, it was skied over and the danger averted. Yannick Yankam to start the second half would put a shot in from distance that only curled wide of goal late.
South Georgia would reassert their dominance in the contest and would add a third late. Off a corner kick taken by Conor Doyle the ball would fall to Jake Dengler. While the Lexington defense converged on Dengler, Dengler was able to find a hole to head the ball into. The header down would fall into the path of Sebastian Vivas who effectively became unmarked as he buried his effort from point blank range.
The result moved South Georgia Tormenta into third in the table, Lexington condemned to their third straight defeat.
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC v Charlotte Independence: Postponed
Weekend Observations and Random Musings
1: I was happy to see the stoppage in the FC Tulsa/Phoenix Rising FC match at sundown for players who respect Ramadan to get some substance. It may not seem like much but being able to respect other religions was nice to see.
2: Is there anyone in the South Florida region who can teach a team how to defend crosses and corner kicks? Asking for a friend.
3: Watching the CBS broadcast USL I leave it with more questions than answers. For starters, is the bunker necessary? We’re starting to see more teams at least give the appearance they are at the ground, it time for all teams to have the broadcast crew there. No announcer should be working more than 1 game a week (and if you pay close attention you can tell some are working 2 or on a rare instance 3 games in a day). The only thing the USL Bunker should be used for is to get the highlight packages put together at the warp speed they do.
3a: The other thing is how horrible USL is when placing microphones around the pitch to get atmosphere. The game on CBS exposed that flaw tremendously. That level of sound on the crowd is now the expectation, not the exception.
3b: The Amazing Race halftime piece I’ll give USL and CBS credit for. For USL anytime one of the hosts of one of the bigger prime time properties CBS produces is willing to film sound for your product it is nothing but a positive.
4: Dear Tampa Bay Rowdies, if you are going to do some giant new number unveiling for Leo Fernandes, you just might want to do it when he’s actually going to be on the pitch game in, game out. To put this production out on Friday and he’s no where on the team sheet on a Saturday is just exceptionally poor timing.
5: It was rather remarkable how fast the confidence left Memphis 901 FC the second Orange County took the lead. Until then they were the better side, after that they were fourth best in a two team contest.
6: Las Vegas, the ceiling is starting to look very high for this group. While San Antonio has been due this result (who think relying on the Late Late Show and not with Craig Ferguson is going to be a successful tactic). The thing that about this Las Vegas team that impresses me is they just play. Their midfield is sneaky good.
7: How much will the phone lines be burning up at Pittsburgh Riverhounds HQ this week in the hope of finding a striker who can score goals? I don’t think they have a player on their roster right now who has a final product in them.
8: My favorite goal of the weekend was this gem from Marco Micaletto.
8a: This is also my mea culpa about New Mexico United. I wonder if they just started the season completely out of conditioning. You can’t deny the point tally they have through 5 games. The only thing you might be able to debate me on is the fact two of their three wins were against complete dumpster fires right now. Points this time of the season matter, ask those who just missed out on the playoffs last year how they would have loved to have points in the bank when they went through their mid season doldrums.
9: Biggest lesson from Birmingham Legion’s victory against Loudoun United, benches matter. Dawson McCartney and Preston Etaka were the extra juice that put the Legion over the top in this gone. The long ball from McCartney to spring the second goal is something that should shown to every back looking to spring a route one counter attack. Mujeeb Murana’s energy late paid off in adding the late third goal.
10: If your Monterey Bay you can’t be so stupid as to get baited into a situation where players can be carded after the match. If your Walmer Martinez you have to get your teammates out of there, not miss matches for being an idiot yourself and getting booked.
10a: If your Oakland Roots unhappy with how the game ended there are proper and official channels to go through to have your questions answered and to have those proper discussions. You don’t go and get 2 of your starters sent off. Your squad is already thin, it doesn’t need to be thinner due to bad choices.
11: For selfish reasons only, can USL schedule like this every week with games spread out throughout the day? Breaking the fourth wall but it was nice to be done by 7:30 on a Sunday night and have the evening to decompress.
Longform Games Next Week
Charleston Battery v Louisville City FC (April 9th, CBS Sports Network)
Miami FC v Tampa Bay Rowdies (April 11th)
San Antonio FC v Orange County SC (April 13th)
Monterey Bay FC v Las Vegas Lights (April 13th)
Lawrence Dockery commented well here, and wrote two great articles about the Memphis woes in the following:
https://bluffcitymedia.co/memphis-901-fc-attendance-drops-again-how-does-it-get-fixed/
https://bluffcitymedia.co/getting-to-tell-our-story-a-chat-with-memphis-901-fc-coo-jay-mims/
Regarding Pittsburgh, I think they struggled during preseason to find their #1 striker. They actually had a pretty crappy preseason in friendlies, which looks like it's carried over into the season. In the last round of cuts, there were two trialist strikers I was watching. EJ Johnson, who is a bit of a project, but looks very talented. And Markus Nagelstad, the golden boot winner from NISA (two years running), who also has USLC experience. They went with Johnson. If they couldn't have both, i understand the choice. But they need to figure it out.
Another note on the Memphis/OC game. In the second half, Neco Brett was charging down the field, hand fighting with a defender, when he suddenly grabbed his zhoulder and went down in pain. It looked crazy and odd. The tranier came out and ended up popping his arm back into the joint... and Neco came right back in. Crazy.
For Legion, McCartney has been out of action after being injured late in the last preseason friendly. He had a great preseason overall, and looks like a very good (former MLSNP) young prospect.