So the report we have from the Atlanta FC draw at home is: while we played well and out-possesed AFC, we failed to convert on our opportunities in the attacking third. This is a tad odd as we seem to have done a good job of scoring up to this point in the season… what happened? It also sounds like CFC also made some mistakes in the backfield that led to good scoring opportunities for AFC. This is a bit alarming as our defense has been our strong point in all our wins thus far (allowing only 1 goal every 2 games in the 4 matches prior).
So, thanks to us, Atlanta FC has their very first point of the season! They were winless AND tie-less until the played us, in our house! Shame.
So what does this mean as we get set to roll into hostile territory against (arguably) our biggest rivals in the conference, Rocket City United?
Well, we at The Chattahooligan are a tad unsure… Rocket City is the one team we have never beaten (a loss away and a tie at home last year). They almost snatched two wins from us last year with the notorious penalty kick given in the 93rd minute of that home game (thank you Richard Masters!).
From our experience in watching the league, Rocket City United is the most organized and professional team in the Southeast (aside from us of course). They seem to be a tad envious of CFC’s success and popularity: team owner and President Andy Zorovitch not only wishes for a win tonight to put them in a tie for first with us, he also wishes to have the fan support that we do (and perhaps the VW plant too). See his quote from a press release here:
Chattanooga is roughly the same size of Huntsville, but at their last game vs. Atlanta FC they had over 2,900 in attendance. RCU team owner and President, Andy Zorovich, says, “I’d like to put out a personal challenge to our community to out-do Chattanooga’s fans by getting 3,000 people at this game. Chattanooga outbid us for the VW plant, let’s not be outdone by them again.”
Note that they are allowing any kids with soccer jerseys on to come in free in order to boost their numbers. Andy: our 3000+ fans are willing to pay to cheer on their team. We don’t need to bribe them!
But trash talking aside, how does RCU stack up?
Well they have tied and lost to Pumas FC, a tie in league play and a loss in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup competition. Apparently Pumas FC had some players not yet authorized for play by the NPSL and had to forfeit the win to RCU 3-0. This is the only reason RCU has 7 points instead of 4 and is in striking distance to us.
They defeated Atlanta FC 2-1 at home (something we failed to do last week). But then they tied Pumas for a second time and then lost to FC Tulsa last week. Let’s presume that was due to travel legs as the game was in Tulsa, a good 12 hr bus trip.
So, it looks as though RCU is as good as anyone in the league, and we have failed to ‘dominate’ any team as of yet. So tonight’s clash should be one of titanic proportions for the league standings. Let’s hope we don’t continue the slide that started last week.
Let’s keep RCU in second place.
Leave a Reply