- Opponent: Miami FC
- Location: Carroll Stadium
- Attendance: 9,942
- Final Score: 3-2 W
- Starting XI: Charles-Cook, Ofeimu, Hogan, Musa, Rendon, Murphy, Quinn (C), Blake, Foster, Amoh, Kizza
- Substitution: Lindley 45' (Murphy)
- Unused: Sulte, Bryneus, Collier, Hunsucker, O'Brien, J., Soumaoro, Williams, R.
Scoring Summary:
MIA - Bonfiglio 21' (assist Vazquez)
IND - Blake 45'+ (Penalty Kick)
IND - Hogan 51' (assist Lindley)
IND - Blake 69' (assist Foster)
MIA - Hoyos 90'+1' (unassisted)
- Bookings:
IND - Murphy 28' (Yellow)
IND - Ofeimu 35' (Yellow)
MIA - Romero 39' (Yellow)
MIA - Bonfiglio 72' (Yellow)
MIA - Knutson 77' (Yellow)
- Referee: Carlos Rodriguez
- Adage goals: One.
Thoughts and Opinions
Not surprisingly after looking like the lesser team Wednesday night in the Jagermeister Cup, Indy came out of the gates with energy. Getting reamed by your coach three nights ago will do that. Coach McAuley also showed his intent with a three forward lineup of Foster, Amoh, and Kizza. The energy and the adjustments worked as the Indy came out ahead with a 3-2 win, breaking their 4-game losing streak, on a night when Cam Lindley was honored for his 100th cap for the team.
Indy immediately put their intentions of getting a positive result out of the game with a header from Rendon that hit the crossbar and bounced just short of the line on the field side of the line instead of the goal side of the line. The near goal seemed to settle Miami. With both teams playing in a proverbial 6-point game, the game starting to become wide open. The back and forth eventually led to Miami getting on the board first on a counterattack after stopping Indy's counter. The ball found Vazquez in the middle of the field with acres of space in front of him. As Indy's defense retreated, Vazquez pushed a ball to his left as Bonfiglio ran from the right in front of him with Musa unable to keep up with Bonfiglio. The striker put his left foot through the ball over a lunging Musa and out of the reach of a diving Charles-Cook who got the start over Sulte.
Blake put a spectacular volley on target to put the fear into Campisi and the post, but Campisi managed to get himself in front of the ball to push it away for what ended as a throw in. It looked like that might be Indy's last chance before the halftime whistle, but Indy was able to level the game in stoppage time. Kizza picked up the ball in the middle of the field with acres of space around him. Heard this before? With the Miami defenders retreating, Kizza put a ball out to the right to Foster. Foster put his head up and placed a perfect ball back on the left side in Blake's path. Blake took a touch which put him in front of the Miami defender who clattered into Blake inside the box setting up a stoppage time penalty kick. Blake went hard and to the left, which Campisi was unable to stop. The goal sent the teams the locker room even, which was probably a fair result.
Immediately after the break, Coach McAuley subbed out Murphy for Lindley. Sitting on a yellow with the way Miami was playing, McAuley felt like it was important to make sure the midfield was solid. After being honored pregame for his previous 100th appearance, Lindley made his coach look smart by putting a perfect free kick towards the 6-yard box. Hogan found his way around his defender to get his head to it to put Indy ahead early in the second half.
Indy fans have learned this season that the game is still entirely in doubt with a one-goal lead. The team continued to push and eventually found a third goal, and the eventual game-winner, in the 69th minute as the ball found Foster in acres of space. There seemed to be a trend to the goals tonight. Foster started toward the goal but instead threaded a perfect pass through two Miami defenders that found Blake to his left. Blake took a settling touch to his left and blasted a shot passed Campisi for the team's third goal.
A two-goal lead. Still not safe.
Indy conceded a second goal to the visitors in the 90'+1' when a shot from outside the box looked like it deflected off of Ofeimu, which then hit the post before being pushed passed Charles-Cook by Hoyos. It's difficult to tell from the camera angles whether Hoyos was offside when the initial shot was taken, but it demonstrates the need for Indy to take the chances they're given. If they hadn't scored the third goal, we would be talking about another late-game collapse. Instead, the late Miami goal made the 6 minutes of stoppage time an anxious one for the fans, but the losing streak came to an end with a 3-2 win at home. It doesn't fix the disappointment from Wednesday, but it does help push the team back up over the playoff line and gives Indy the tiebreaker against Miami, which might come into play as the season winds down.
Indy return to Carroll next weekend for the year's first edition of LIPAFC as Louisville comes to town.
The Game Beckons Game Ball
I may have been tough on Foster and his first half effort from Wednesday's game, but he was dynamic tonight. He didn't make it onto the scoresheet, but his effort tonight directly lead to two of the three goals. I've said it many times in this segment. It's not always the player that jumps out from the stat sheet. Blake, while clearly struggling at times lately to be the player we know he can be, scored twice tonight for a brace. Clearly that seems deserving, but I'm going to give Foster the edge because of what it meant to the team's goals and how it differed from what I feel we normally see from him. Foster is dynamic. He went passed Knutson in the 77th minute like Knutson was stuck in quicksand. With nothing left to do, he had to pull on Foster's jersey to prevent the attack. In real time, I thought there was an argument for a red card because Knutson stopped a scoring opportunity with no other defenders around. Being that dynamic and speedy with the ball causes fits for defenders. However, I have often thought that Foster holds onto the ball too long and tries to do too much. Tonight, Foster had his head up and found guys in better positions. With Foster's speed, sometimes doing the exact opposite is more effective. Tonight, that effectiveness gets him the GBGB.
Photos: Don Thompson Photography
No comments:
Post a Comment