Juggernauts settle for 2-2 tie in home opener
St. Marys Juggernauts started their Second Division season at home Sunday with a 2–2 draw against London Hispanos on a difficult pitch and weather conditions that contributed to some unexpected situations.
In the first 15 minutes, the Juggernaut defence had a difficult time picking up the opposing strikers and were under pressure to not concede an early goal.
St. Marys finally began to find their stride and started to take control of the ball. Eventually, striker Kevin Thompson opened his goal-scoring account, giving the team an early lead which would last through to half-time.
“We certainly rode our luck through the start of the half as the team
suffered a slight wobble early, but we certainly did enough to snatch a
second goal in the half. However, we just did not have the focus to finish,”
commented coach John Flanagan.
In the second half, Juggernauts again had a slow start and the soggy pitch
transitioned to slow legs for the home squad, except for the back-line.
Woolfy’s player-of-the-match, Brent Smale, marshalling his teammates Evan
Doupe, Tyler Orchard and Sam Seddon, allowed keeper John Stuart to deal with
shots from a distance. However, the strikes required concentration due to
the wet pitch.
Juggernauts started to grab the game by the neck when midfielders James
Flanagan, Angus Moylan and Darryl Thompson began winning loose balls in the
midfield.
“This gave the opportunity for wingers Derek Hartman, Mike Luna and Mike
Weersink to start probing the Hispanos back-line and find the gaps sending
strikers Thompson, Korey Graham and Edwin Mena deep into the opposition end
and creating goal-scoring opportunities.
However, in a 10-minute span, Hispanos turned the game on its head with two
goals. The first saw keeper Stuart get beat to a loose long ball, and the
second was a result of a midfield turnover and a quick counter-attacking
play was finished off brilliantly—putting the home team on its heels.
Team character tested
“Up to that point, we certainly were the better team, however, they made us
pay for a couple of early mistakes. Now, we were in a situation that would
test the character of the team,” assistant Gord Moylan remarked.
The Juggernaut character was a sight to behold as they picked up the pace
and gave their all. Chances started when midfielder Luna sent Korey Graham
in on net from the right wing, only to see Graham beat the defender and the
goalie, but not the post.
The play ignited Juggernauts and the pressure was now on the Hispanos’
defence. Shortly after, Graham—who was eating up his marker—sent a long
cross across the box which found the head of Mike Weersink, but it just
missed the net.
The score was then tied when defender Sam Seddon swooped into the opposition
end and after drawing Graham’s marker to him sent Graham unmarked down the
wing. Graham, with lots of time, looked up and found the head of Kevin
Thompson, who made no mistake.
St. Marys kept the pressure up and had chances to win. The team had some
great runs from Seddon and Orchard who put on great displays on both sides
of the pitch, consistently winning loose balls and driving into the
visitors’ end of the field—setting up the forwards for scoring chances.
Good late chances
The best chances to grab a victory came when on a direct kick, Flanagan and
Moylan combined on a scripted play which was marvelously executed only to
see the keeper make a great save on Moylan.
Then shortly after, Flanagan sent a 30-yard screamer on the net which went
off the crossbar and saw Thompson put the rebound in the net only to get
called back for off-side, although he was clearly on-side.
“Overall, the team played well enough to win, however, the way we responded
when falling behind was the real lesson from the game,” summed up coach
Flanagan.
“We put on a hell of a show at that point as we gave our all and it has
taken a good team to get a point in St. Marys. We are a young team and we
are learning, but we have to be pleased with the effort today against an
experienced, mature team.
“Once we walk on the field, we need to be switched on, ready to play, and
winning the individual battles is key to the team success. Today, we had
lapses where we were a little bit casual and we need to get stuck in and put
the focus we showed when we went down a goal into 90 minutes of play.
“Certainly we had lots of players who stood out in the game. The play of
Brent Smale was top drawer and he certainly deserved the recognition as
Woolfy’s player-of-the-match,” Flanagan added.
Upcoming: Juggernauts’ next WOSL game is Friday, May 23 when they travel to
London Marconi.
“We do have a few players out with injuries,” coach Flanagan noted. “Trevor
Voyce and Harm Vosters will probably not be ready to return for this game,
but we do expect to have veteran Stephen Treadway back in the line-up which
will be a welcomed addition for the team.”
Next home game is Sunday, June 1 when Simcoe comes to town for a 5 o’clock
start at Meadowridge.