Royals continue to disappoint, drop another two points in league play
June 21, 2007
The Ottawa Royals continued to show signs of the Jekyll and Hyde routine that has plagued them throughout this young 2007 season, as they dropped two more vital points in the OCSL league title race to Hull Unidos last night.
Traveling to the unfriendly confines of Du Plateau field, the Ottawa Royals showed no opening signs of discomfort playing on a matchbox-sized pitch that was slick and bumpy, as they quickly took the lead off a Sylvain Cloutier strike. Jorge Gutierrez won a free header on 4 minutes in midfield and powered the ball forward to Cloutier who beat the offside trap and calmly struck the ball past the onrushing keeper from 18 meters out. The keeper got a hand to the ball, but there was enough power on the shot to see it through over the line to give the Royals a 1-0 lead.
Both teams were struggling with possession, as the slick surface was proving difficult. Weather conditions were cooler than expected, as a light drizzle made the playing surface even quicker. Jorge Gutierrez was throwing his weight around in midfield winning several challenges that spurred on the Royals attack, as the men in white enjoyed the majority of play and a multitude of scoring chances in the opening 30 minutes of the game. The Royals were stringing a few passes together in spurts, and in the 10th minute, Roberto Gutierrez settled the ball deep on the right side of the Royals own zone before sending a great pass down the wing for Jonathon Brooks. Brooks beat his defender and sent a perfect low, square pass across the goalmouth to an onrushing Matt D'Angelo. The Royals leading scorer made sure to get to the ball first before his marker, and confidently struck the ball first time, tucking it just inside the post for a 2-0 Royals lead.
Sloppy play ensued, with both teams taking advantage of the short distance between both goals to launch counter attacks in either direction. Tyler Wallace had a solid opening 45 minutes in the Royals net, as the Royals 3-5-2 formation limited Hull's opportunities, and took advantage of a shoddy Hull offside trap to create many promising attacking opportunities for themselves.
But as has been the storyline so far this season for the Royals, the team squandered away several set pieces and clear cut scoring chances and with each miss their play seemed to lose a little more intensity.
In the 40th minute, Jorge Gutierrez was forced out with a Charlie horse to his right thigh, and Labrom was pushed into midfield to see the rest of the half out (with Zegers sliding in at left back).With intensity waning, Royals players started second guessing their decisions in an attempt to unlock the way to the elusive third goal. This erratic play led to a turnover by Kowlessar at the top of the Hull's 18-yard box in minute 42. Hull counter attacked swiftly, sending a ball over the Royals defence putting the opposing striker in on goal for a 1v1 situation with Wallace.
Roberto Gutierrez recovered beautifully to restrict the angle of the striker's run on goal and caught up to the defender just inside the area, before lunging for the ball. Despite this shoulder-to-shoulder challenge, the striker was able to get a weak shot off that beat Wallace as he came off his line, but a retreating Frank Zegers was quick to clear the ball off the line and avoid conceding the goal. Inexplicably however, some 5 or 6 seconds after the shot was taken, a scrambling referee caught up to the play and blew his whistle, pointing to the penalty spot having judged that Roberto had committed a foul. Unidos accepted the gift gleefully, and a defender stepped up and converted the spot kick on the stroke of halftime to send the teams into the break with a 2-1 score line... the Royals were far from out of the woods!
Coach Adams decided to make several changes at half-time, Frank Decaria replacing Tyler Wallace in goal, Greg Donnard and Alan Farant entering the game on the flanks for Dan Deganutti and Jonathon Brooks, and Ryan Devereaux replacing Matt D'Angelo up front.
The Royals started the half on the right note immediately sending a ball into the corner for a speedy Donnard. The young French winger showed an appetitive for the game that was lacking in some of his team mates as he made several early second half runs that pinned the Hull side back in their end during the opening 15 minutes. Royals were nevertheless unable to restore their two-goal lead, despite several good scoring opportunities; the best chance falling to Kowlessar off a Farant corner, which saw his header from a few metres out go agonizingly wide of the post by a few inches. Having dodged this latest round of bullets, it was time for Hull to capitalize on a disorganized Royals team that was still trying to gets its feet on solid ground given the myriad of changes at various positions. Unidos enjoyed several chances on goal, and at the 61 minute mark found the equalizer they were looking for when a broken play fell to striker's feet as he smashed a shot home from just inside the box into the back of the Royals net: 2-2.
The rest of the game was a see-saw battle, with a majority of scoring opportunities falling the Royals way. There were goal-line scrambles at both ends of the field and with seconds remaining in the game the Royals thought they had secured all three points when a corner from the right side found James MacMillan's head, as the big defender sent the ball looping towards the net. As the ball fell into the goal just under the crossbar, Ryan Devereaux and the Hull keeper collided as each attempted to get a touch on the ball. Once again the referee made a decision that would not favour the Royals on the day as he called for goalkeeper interference, and the goal was disallowed.
But the Royals will have to look at themselves and not the referee, nor the playing conditions for the loss of 2 points on the day. A predator's instinct in front of goal and a more consistent performance on the defensive side of the ball from goalkeeper right through to the strikers will be required if the Royals are to turn their season around. Despite a few last gasp changes that saw Dimitri Koutras and Richard Boyle enter the fray, the Royals were forced to settle for a disappointing 2-2 tie.
And there isn't much time for the Royals to work on their form as they travel to Toronto for their next Ontario Cup encounter with Hearts Azzurri this weekend. Game time is set for 1pm at Esther Shiner Stadium in Toronto on Sunday, June 24 and awaiting the Royals on a hot Summer's day on field-turf will be a young talented team that is currently leading the Eastern Standings of the ultra competitive Ontario Soccer League. This is likely to be the most difficult test of the season so far for the Royals, and it will not get any easier from there as their next OCSL opponents will be none other than the defending National Champions, St Anthony's, whom they will face next Thursday in OCSL league play.
Statistics
Man of the Match: Marc Labrom - 3 points; Matt D’Angelo - 2 points; Roberto Gutierrez - 1 point.
Agent Labrom was stirred, not shaken in the 2-2 tie against UNIDOS. Making a return from a lengthy injury, Labrom showed character and tenacity in keeping the left-sided position solid for the Royals. A welcome return to the line up.
Royals:
1-Wallace; 22-R. Gutierrez (21-Viscosi, 46), 3-MacMillan, 6-Labrom; 9-Deganutti (46-Farant), 20-Kowlessar (8-Koutras, 86), 11-Rochon, 12-J. Gutierrez (2-Zegers, 41; R-Gutierrez, 81), 16-Brooks (19-Donnard, 46; Boyle, 81); 15-D'Angelo (23-Devereaux, 46), 7-Clouthier
Sub not used: Dennis
HULL UNIDOS
1-Pinheiro, 4-Simon, 10-Farias, 18-Ferreira, 3-Lee, 6-Imail, 22-Ciepela, 12-Akem, 5-Goulet, 14-Cabeireiras, 0-Ferreira, 7-Da Silva, 15-Marineur
Goals: 1-0 – Sylvain Clouthier (assist J. Gutierrez); 2-0 – Matt D’Angelo (assist Brooks); 2-1 – Cabeireiras (penalty); 2-2 Akem
Season Tally:
Goals: D’Angelo 9; J. Gutierrez 2; Boyle, Clouthier, Devereaux, Kowlessar, Ntwari 1
Assists: Deganutti 3; Brooks, J. Gutierrez, Rochon 2; Boyle, D’Angelo, Dennis, Devereaux 1
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