October 18, 2001
Memphis Shock at Hotspur
On a cool night was the 3rd meeting of two D3 foes. Hotspurs had gotten the better end of the deal by scores of 4-0 and 2-0 in other games. We played good enough to win the second game but 2 own goals did us in. We were hoping to turn that fate around this time. Game time conditions were a cool high 60's with good pitch conditions.
Not too many big plays were happening in the first half. Most of the play was in midfield with most attempts on goal being cleared away. There were many breakaways that ended in a harmless shot on goal or a good defensive stand. We nearly broke thru first when a ball got to Bryant who was on the left side of the box. He shot it at the keeper who dove in desperation and luckily got a body shot of ball. A couple of other shots were taken from long range that had a little too much power on them that went streaking over the crossbar. On a breakaway for Hotspurs, their forward got behind his defender and was racing to the goal. Baxter made a sweet save from his knees that would have been a sure goal.
Thirty minutes into the game the first tally of the game came from none other than Matt Talley. Micah was fighting for a loose ball on the left side of the field, and sent the ball to the middle of the box. Matt was waiting for it and he shot the ball to the keepers left that hit the back of the net. Memphis Shock 1-0. But it was a bittersweet assist for Micah as he had to be carried off the field. When he centered the ball he got tangled up with the defender and twisted his ankle. He was out for the rest of the game.
Fresh off the goal Matt managed to get his first yellow of the year a few minutes before half. From a long corner Hotspurs gathered the ball and were off to the races. Matt fouled the player from behind. I don't condone fouling from behind, but this was a professional foul. After some more play it was halftime.
During halftime we all got in a tight circle and juggled the ball around. We wanted to work on 2 things, a) score another goal, and b) don't give up another freaking penalty shot.
For about the first 15 minutes of the 2nd half we were playing like Manchester United. Hotspurs barely even touched the ball. After all that great play, 10 minutes later Hotspurs got, you guessed it, a penalty shot. One of their forwards was running away from the goal and he got tripped up from behind. Let me take a moment here real quick. We have played 6 games total this year, and we have given up 6 penalty kicks. We need to realize that if you are beat in the box, we have 3 very very very capable keepers who can save the shots. Case in point, opposing players are 5 for 6 on pk's. Not to mention, we are in a league with smarter players, and they will go down in the box. Anyways, back to the game. The player stepped up and took a hard shot. Baxter went the right way and blocked the ball. From the force of the shot and the liveliness of the ball it came right back to the shooter and he put it away. Tied 1-1.
About 10 minutes later another goal was scored. Hotspurs were coming down the left side of the field. After some tough marking by our defender the player got loose and passed the ball off to a player streaking in. He shot a low screamer that hit the back of the net. Hotspurs 2-1.
After this goal, Hotspurs decided to start talking smack a little bit more. They were doing it consistently before this time and since they got the lead and all of the sudden became "the man" they figured they could talk it up even more. This only ignited more rough play from both teams. The ref let the rough play go. Comparing him to other refs, both teams combined would have had around 10 cards, but only 3 were given out.
Both keepers had to make some nice saves this game, Baxter more than the other keeper. The reason being our shots not on target, Hotspurs were. Baxter made this twisting save from a shot that was taken from 35 yards out that deflected off of one our defenders, and spun to the opposite direction. Baxter was going right and the ball spun ball back to the left. Baxter quickly changed direction and smothered the ball. Extremely difficult save.
In the waning moments of the game, Cam won a ball from an opponent and passed the ball off to Kip near the center stripe. Kip dribbled un-marked up the field and fired from 30 yards out. The ball ricocheted off of a Hotspurs player and totally caught the keeper off guard. Unlike Baxter, he wasn't able to stop his momentum and the ball went in the back of the net for a goal. Tie game 2-2. A minute later the game was over.
Plain and simple, we played a great game. I'm glad we got at least a tie out of it. A win would've been better, but 1 point is acceptable. We started off the first part of the first half kinda sluggish, but we picked it up. Our defense did a great job tonight. They were doing a great job containing the on coming forwards and anticipating the thru balls. Our midfield was under pressure up against a talented group of players that had been playing together for years. The midfield has been doing a much better job tracking back on defense and also helping out the forwards up front. Recent additions of players have only helped us out in that department. If a man in mid gets tired, we have up to 5 players that can sub for him. That way we keep fresh people in the game. Forwards are keeping the pressure on the goal with some nice skill and hustle. This is a good start to the 2nd half of the season. We can only hope it will continue to get better.
Now, if we can only get commitements to have decent practices.
Dennis Thompson
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