The brilliance of this 2018 NPSL Season for AFC Ann Arbor continued today as the Mighty Oak ventured to Lafayette and took back all three points to Ann Arbor with them. A 6-0 victory away from home marks the third 4+ away victory in the season that is just three games in.
What Happened:
From nearly the opening whistle, AFC had their way with the Indiana defense. The first minute saw a great run from Henry Ramirez to set up Yuri Farkas who went just a touch wide of goal. The 14th saw the breakthrough, though, when JP Rylah made a dynamic run into the box and hit a nice shot that was saved well by the keeper, but was only parried. The moment it was clear that Indiana would not be able to clear the ball out of the box, AFC were like sharks to the ball as Rylah ended up with the ball back at his feet having drawn the keeper far out of his box, which made his assist to Farkas for the opener an easy one. The lead was doubled quickly as just two minutes later as Chris Odhiambo played Farkas through the center-backs of FC Indiana and Farkas finished well. The lead was 2-0, but between some more good chances, including a nice strike again from Rylah that hit the inside of the post, it seemed clear that more goals were to come as the halftime whistle sounded.
Unfortunately, the FC Indiana Facebook stream was down for the second half, however we know from the live-Tweets sent by the official @AFCAnnArbor account, the pressure would continue. Just five minutes into the second half saw Farkas complete his hat trick, then add to that a penalty goal five minutes later, which he himself drew, before being subbed off. With four goals and constant dangerous positioning, there was no question that he was the man of the match today. Yuri continues to be quite arguably the brightest spot on a team full of outstanding individual players combined for a well-rounded team effort. The goals did not leave with Farkas. Michael Shaikly scored his first goal in Ann Arbor blue in the 65th to make the lead 5-0, and Alec Lasinski (the man who came on for Farkas) put in the record-breaking sixth as AFC broke their record for most goals, largest margin of victory, and the individual record for most goals scored (4) for Farkas. Overall, Yuri Farkas will certainly claim the headlines, and rightfully so as he was outstanding, but yet again was this a team effort.
How Did This Happen:
AFC Ann Arbor were just a class above today. Being able to travel on a short rest and take three big away points in a league match is something that you've got to be able to do in the NPSL if you want to make the playoffs. Winning over the Milwaukee Torrent away is something playoff rival Grand Rapids FC was not able to do, while beating FC Indiana on the road is a result GRFC was able to achieve. Especially in the earlier stages of the season, you want to be sure to stay focused on the task at hand and be able to set the pace when possible, but also have the concentration to match results when need be. This was the case today and now the result puts them in the driver's seat for the moment in the Great Lakes Division.
I think it's huge to note that this victory was achieved without Marc Ybarra in the match-day squad. The Michigan midfielder has been immense this season, but his exclusion today went off without a hitch and provided him a well-earned respite today as well. Talking a bit of tactics, one of the biggest things that I saw Farkas and AFC exploit was the holes in the center of the defense from FC Indiana. Farkas was played through one for his second goal and there were several other instances of players finding space, but the up-pitch pressure from Indiana was just too much at the time. Speaking of the pressure, with the short field, one would think the high line of Ann Arbor may get them in some trouble. This was not the case as it really took some individual efforts from the Lions to get them opportunities. Instead, in some instances, it was indeed Indiana who attempted to press high, but would often end up being the ones who were pinned back.
It is always exciting to score six goals, but credit must go to the outstanding work done in midfield by Ramirez, as well as the nice work done of the wing by Odhiambo. Both provided quality service of the ball into the more advanced portions of the pitch and I took special note of them when watching the first half. A former FC Indiana player, Ramirez in particular has turned in two consecutive league games of incredible quality and has showcased the ability to play as a box-to-box midfielder here for Ann Arbor. He has showed himself to be a player of that top caliber that AFC will need in the midfield alongside those other pieces of players like Ybarra and Shaikly that can push the entire side onto results like this. Odhiambo, on the other hand, has continued to do nice work as the Kenyan U23 national player immerses himself more fully into the side. As the season progresses, I look at him and think he will be key to the team if a first-place finish in the division is in the cards. He offers something different from Kyle Breitmeyer in a bit more pace and width to his game, while Kyle I can see as someone playing on the wing but almost being able to play more centrally in the pitch as well. Today was a very big step in the right direction for both Ramirez and Odhiambo in becoming the sort of players Ann Arbor will need.
Final Thoughts:
It is rather difficult to give a wholly encompassing description of a football match without the option of being able to personally analyze the second half, but truly, the final score gives you the story of the game. A 6-0 win is outstanding and especially given the circumstances, the entire Mighty Oak fan base can take joy in knowing that they have been given yet another result to push them onward to cementing a spot at the top of the table.
Up next is a match with Kalamazoo FC on May 25th in Kalamazoo. With a win in their match against Milwaukee Torrent tonight at 5:30 PM (kicking off just a little bit after I post this), this match would be a battle of the final two teams who have won all their games so far this season. After that, it is the second leg of the Michigan Milk Cup quarter-finals against Oakland County FC at home on Memorial Day. AFC won at Oakland County 2-0 last week and should have a great opportunity to put them away and move onto the next round.
Please follow me on Twitter, if you haven't yet. I'm @RMABTweets on there.
What Happened:
From nearly the opening whistle, AFC had their way with the Indiana defense. The first minute saw a great run from Henry Ramirez to set up Yuri Farkas who went just a touch wide of goal. The 14th saw the breakthrough, though, when JP Rylah made a dynamic run into the box and hit a nice shot that was saved well by the keeper, but was only parried. The moment it was clear that Indiana would not be able to clear the ball out of the box, AFC were like sharks to the ball as Rylah ended up with the ball back at his feet having drawn the keeper far out of his box, which made his assist to Farkas for the opener an easy one. The lead was doubled quickly as just two minutes later as Chris Odhiambo played Farkas through the center-backs of FC Indiana and Farkas finished well. The lead was 2-0, but between some more good chances, including a nice strike again from Rylah that hit the inside of the post, it seemed clear that more goals were to come as the halftime whistle sounded.
Unfortunately, the FC Indiana Facebook stream was down for the second half, however we know from the live-Tweets sent by the official @AFCAnnArbor account, the pressure would continue. Just five minutes into the second half saw Farkas complete his hat trick, then add to that a penalty goal five minutes later, which he himself drew, before being subbed off. With four goals and constant dangerous positioning, there was no question that he was the man of the match today. Yuri continues to be quite arguably the brightest spot on a team full of outstanding individual players combined for a well-rounded team effort. The goals did not leave with Farkas. Michael Shaikly scored his first goal in Ann Arbor blue in the 65th to make the lead 5-0, and Alec Lasinski (the man who came on for Farkas) put in the record-breaking sixth as AFC broke their record for most goals, largest margin of victory, and the individual record for most goals scored (4) for Farkas. Overall, Yuri Farkas will certainly claim the headlines, and rightfully so as he was outstanding, but yet again was this a team effort.
How Did This Happen:
AFC Ann Arbor were just a class above today. Being able to travel on a short rest and take three big away points in a league match is something that you've got to be able to do in the NPSL if you want to make the playoffs. Winning over the Milwaukee Torrent away is something playoff rival Grand Rapids FC was not able to do, while beating FC Indiana on the road is a result GRFC was able to achieve. Especially in the earlier stages of the season, you want to be sure to stay focused on the task at hand and be able to set the pace when possible, but also have the concentration to match results when need be. This was the case today and now the result puts them in the driver's seat for the moment in the Great Lakes Division.
I think it's huge to note that this victory was achieved without Marc Ybarra in the match-day squad. The Michigan midfielder has been immense this season, but his exclusion today went off without a hitch and provided him a well-earned respite today as well. Talking a bit of tactics, one of the biggest things that I saw Farkas and AFC exploit was the holes in the center of the defense from FC Indiana. Farkas was played through one for his second goal and there were several other instances of players finding space, but the up-pitch pressure from Indiana was just too much at the time. Speaking of the pressure, with the short field, one would think the high line of Ann Arbor may get them in some trouble. This was not the case as it really took some individual efforts from the Lions to get them opportunities. Instead, in some instances, it was indeed Indiana who attempted to press high, but would often end up being the ones who were pinned back.
It is always exciting to score six goals, but credit must go to the outstanding work done in midfield by Ramirez, as well as the nice work done of the wing by Odhiambo. Both provided quality service of the ball into the more advanced portions of the pitch and I took special note of them when watching the first half. A former FC Indiana player, Ramirez in particular has turned in two consecutive league games of incredible quality and has showcased the ability to play as a box-to-box midfielder here for Ann Arbor. He has showed himself to be a player of that top caliber that AFC will need in the midfield alongside those other pieces of players like Ybarra and Shaikly that can push the entire side onto results like this. Odhiambo, on the other hand, has continued to do nice work as the Kenyan U23 national player immerses himself more fully into the side. As the season progresses, I look at him and think he will be key to the team if a first-place finish in the division is in the cards. He offers something different from Kyle Breitmeyer in a bit more pace and width to his game, while Kyle I can see as someone playing on the wing but almost being able to play more centrally in the pitch as well. Today was a very big step in the right direction for both Ramirez and Odhiambo in becoming the sort of players Ann Arbor will need.
Final Thoughts:
It is rather difficult to give a wholly encompassing description of a football match without the option of being able to personally analyze the second half, but truly, the final score gives you the story of the game. A 6-0 win is outstanding and especially given the circumstances, the entire Mighty Oak fan base can take joy in knowing that they have been given yet another result to push them onward to cementing a spot at the top of the table.
Up next is a match with Kalamazoo FC on May 25th in Kalamazoo. With a win in their match against Milwaukee Torrent tonight at 5:30 PM (kicking off just a little bit after I post this), this match would be a battle of the final two teams who have won all their games so far this season. After that, it is the second leg of the Michigan Milk Cup quarter-finals against Oakland County FC at home on Memorial Day. AFC won at Oakland County 2-0 last week and should have a great opportunity to put them away and move onto the next round.
Please follow me on Twitter, if you haven't yet. I'm @RMABTweets on there.
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