Sometimes you're the 2-0, sometimes you're the 0-2. On this Friday evening in Grand Rapids, the Mighty Oak were the 0-2 and, for the first time this season in the league, taste defeat. It was a spirited affair with a goal in the opening minutes of the match, and another in stoppage time, with plenty in-between.
What Happened:
AFC Ann Arbor were punched immediately in the match as, in the 2nd minute, Grand Rapids found the back of the net. Ann Arbor had committed defenders to try and snuff out a chance up the pitch but unfortunately some unlucky bounces combined with over-excited defending put them in a tough position to track back and the home team found a 1-0 lead through Kenroy Howell. The blow was early though, and the eyes of fans from both sides became focused on Ann Arbor and seeing what sort of response to this strike they would have.
It took the Mighty Oak a bit to get into the match, but they eventually found a foothold in the match after about 30 minutes. A 25-yard out free kick was taken brilliantly from Serge Gamwanya, but the header from Jack Cawley drew an even better save from Noah Fazekas. AZ Liadi was involved consistently in the match and he had multiple good chances from his foot (a shot from his weaker left in the 35th forcing a save, a curling effort just wide in the 39th, and another right footed effort forcing another strong save) as well as multiple crosses in from the wing (a great run set Gamwanya up in the 44th in the box, but he hit wide of the target). Despite the scoreline, AFC seemed close and would hope to take some momentum into the second half.
There was perhaps no better chance than from the boot of Chris Odhiambo who rounded Fazekas, had a tough angle but an open net, but GRFC's Trent Vegter sacrificed his body to block the shot off the goal line taking a hard strike on the body and sending it out for a throw. The block was huge and signaled the best chance from either side until Grand Rapids' late goal. Odhiambo had another late effort, but again, Fazekas made a save and a Michael Shaikly had a follow-up shot go wide, and yet again a great chance went begging. Grand Rapids had their opportunities, Mike Novotny made himself big and forced an attempted Howell chip wide through his positioning, but they sealed it away with a stoppage time effort. Alec Lasinski's long throw was solid, but Cawley's weak-footed effort was scuffed and eventually cleared. With Novotny up, the net was wide open, and with Caio losing the pace battle to Morris Kamara and not willing to get what would surely be a red card, he eventually lost the battle and Kamara slammed the door shut earning Grand Rapids all three points.
How Did This Happen:
Of course, we must talk about what exactly happened with the first goal and how Grand Rapids was able to strike so quickly. And watching the goal back, you can see what went wrong. AFC sold out a bit high up the pitch to try and win the ball, especially left-back Serkan Cihan. Still, the Mighty Oak recover well, especially Cihan, in fact, but you can see in the commotion Turnbull and Caio both play closer to the center almost as a sort of zone as opposed to marking a man, notably Howell, who sneaks onside and is found. You could even see on stream of the game the captain, Cawley, get on Caio's case for leaving a dangerous striker unmarked. Between the commotion and the lack of full experience of the personnel together, AFC are unlucky that their biggest mistake of the half came just two minutes into the match.
Speaking of personnel, there was much speculation with Marc Ybarra out of the line-up about who the starting midfielders would be. Coach Rudland decided to do what I expected and start his strongest available middle-men, Caio, Gamwanya, and Shaikly all from the get-go. The results were solid, however I thought from watching the side that they missed that midfield destroyer sort of player that Ybarra provides so well for their team. Additionally, while all three men are able to backtrack with consistency, Ybarra's stability allowed two of the three to focus on that attacking presence. Here you had sort of rotation with one man, most often Caio, occasionally Gamwanya, dropping back as the holding midfielder. When all three were up, the most effective tool became a Cawley long-ball which, while Ann Arbor can attack from these rather well, does not play to their possession footballing strengths and Grand Rapids made sure to press and close down hard to prevent any build-up from the back. Ann Arbor still got their great chances and were unlucky not to score, but Grand Rapids was able to defend the Mighty Oak well.
Perhaps no method of attack, however, was better than the runs down the right flank. AZ Liadi and Spencer Turnbull were outstanding on the attack and Liadi in particular had the better of Nick Groenewold on a regular basis. Turnbull also made some outstanding runs to set his teammates up and was able to track back well on the wing, impressively from the runs he made in a more central position on the pitch as well. Liadi was the most unlucky of all AFC players (except maybe Odhiambo) to not score as he was constantly in dangerous positions and just kept getting denied by Fazekas. Regardless, he is my personal man of the match for the Mighty Oak on this evening.
Something to also note was the excitement AFC fans surely got from seeing Yuri Farkas and Matthieu "Frenchy" Braem back in action as both came on as substitutes. I, personally, was excited to see Farkas back in action as he had seemingly not lost any chemistry with his teammates when I saw him in practice this past week. Sure enough, he displayed that trademark brilliance in tight quarters and, even in limited time with much defensive attention, looked outstanding. Braem as well was his typical solid self in defense, however he did not face much pressure as by the time he checked into the match AFC was well into the portion of the match where they committed as many bodies forward as possible. It will be great to see both of them play a role in the matches to come down the stretch of the season.
Final Thoughts:
While Ann Arbor could technically be sitting in second place following the weekend's end (Columbus play Grand Rapids, who now sit just a point back with level in games played, on Sunday), there is no need to panic yet. Ann Arbor gave up one goal by a mistake that can be easily ironed out, one as a result of committing an empty net, and looked defensively solid for the remaining 90 minutes without Stanley Okumu or Ybarra. This likely means they lose a bye if they do indeed make the NPSL playoffs which are so close to being in their grasp, but their destiny in the division lies in their hands still. They will return to action Tuesday the 26th in Kalamazoo for the Milk Cup semi-finals against Kalamazoo FC, before returning home on Friday the 29th in the biggest match of the season, a date with FC Columbus. The home stretch is finally here and AFC Ann Arbor will need to finish strong.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for live AFC Ann Arbor coverage as well as additional coverage of Michigan basketball and Liverpool FC.
What Happened:
AFC Ann Arbor were punched immediately in the match as, in the 2nd minute, Grand Rapids found the back of the net. Ann Arbor had committed defenders to try and snuff out a chance up the pitch but unfortunately some unlucky bounces combined with over-excited defending put them in a tough position to track back and the home team found a 1-0 lead through Kenroy Howell. The blow was early though, and the eyes of fans from both sides became focused on Ann Arbor and seeing what sort of response to this strike they would have.
It took the Mighty Oak a bit to get into the match, but they eventually found a foothold in the match after about 30 minutes. A 25-yard out free kick was taken brilliantly from Serge Gamwanya, but the header from Jack Cawley drew an even better save from Noah Fazekas. AZ Liadi was involved consistently in the match and he had multiple good chances from his foot (a shot from his weaker left in the 35th forcing a save, a curling effort just wide in the 39th, and another right footed effort forcing another strong save) as well as multiple crosses in from the wing (a great run set Gamwanya up in the 44th in the box, but he hit wide of the target). Despite the scoreline, AFC seemed close and would hope to take some momentum into the second half.
There was perhaps no better chance than from the boot of Chris Odhiambo who rounded Fazekas, had a tough angle but an open net, but GRFC's Trent Vegter sacrificed his body to block the shot off the goal line taking a hard strike on the body and sending it out for a throw. The block was huge and signaled the best chance from either side until Grand Rapids' late goal. Odhiambo had another late effort, but again, Fazekas made a save and a Michael Shaikly had a follow-up shot go wide, and yet again a great chance went begging. Grand Rapids had their opportunities, Mike Novotny made himself big and forced an attempted Howell chip wide through his positioning, but they sealed it away with a stoppage time effort. Alec Lasinski's long throw was solid, but Cawley's weak-footed effort was scuffed and eventually cleared. With Novotny up, the net was wide open, and with Caio losing the pace battle to Morris Kamara and not willing to get what would surely be a red card, he eventually lost the battle and Kamara slammed the door shut earning Grand Rapids all three points.
How Did This Happen:
Of course, we must talk about what exactly happened with the first goal and how Grand Rapids was able to strike so quickly. And watching the goal back, you can see what went wrong. AFC sold out a bit high up the pitch to try and win the ball, especially left-back Serkan Cihan. Still, the Mighty Oak recover well, especially Cihan, in fact, but you can see in the commotion Turnbull and Caio both play closer to the center almost as a sort of zone as opposed to marking a man, notably Howell, who sneaks onside and is found. You could even see on stream of the game the captain, Cawley, get on Caio's case for leaving a dangerous striker unmarked. Between the commotion and the lack of full experience of the personnel together, AFC are unlucky that their biggest mistake of the half came just two minutes into the match.
Speaking of personnel, there was much speculation with Marc Ybarra out of the line-up about who the starting midfielders would be. Coach Rudland decided to do what I expected and start his strongest available middle-men, Caio, Gamwanya, and Shaikly all from the get-go. The results were solid, however I thought from watching the side that they missed that midfield destroyer sort of player that Ybarra provides so well for their team. Additionally, while all three men are able to backtrack with consistency, Ybarra's stability allowed two of the three to focus on that attacking presence. Here you had sort of rotation with one man, most often Caio, occasionally Gamwanya, dropping back as the holding midfielder. When all three were up, the most effective tool became a Cawley long-ball which, while Ann Arbor can attack from these rather well, does not play to their possession footballing strengths and Grand Rapids made sure to press and close down hard to prevent any build-up from the back. Ann Arbor still got their great chances and were unlucky not to score, but Grand Rapids was able to defend the Mighty Oak well.
Perhaps no method of attack, however, was better than the runs down the right flank. AZ Liadi and Spencer Turnbull were outstanding on the attack and Liadi in particular had the better of Nick Groenewold on a regular basis. Turnbull also made some outstanding runs to set his teammates up and was able to track back well on the wing, impressively from the runs he made in a more central position on the pitch as well. Liadi was the most unlucky of all AFC players (except maybe Odhiambo) to not score as he was constantly in dangerous positions and just kept getting denied by Fazekas. Regardless, he is my personal man of the match for the Mighty Oak on this evening.
Something to also note was the excitement AFC fans surely got from seeing Yuri Farkas and Matthieu "Frenchy" Braem back in action as both came on as substitutes. I, personally, was excited to see Farkas back in action as he had seemingly not lost any chemistry with his teammates when I saw him in practice this past week. Sure enough, he displayed that trademark brilliance in tight quarters and, even in limited time with much defensive attention, looked outstanding. Braem as well was his typical solid self in defense, however he did not face much pressure as by the time he checked into the match AFC was well into the portion of the match where they committed as many bodies forward as possible. It will be great to see both of them play a role in the matches to come down the stretch of the season.
Final Thoughts:
While Ann Arbor could technically be sitting in second place following the weekend's end (Columbus play Grand Rapids, who now sit just a point back with level in games played, on Sunday), there is no need to panic yet. Ann Arbor gave up one goal by a mistake that can be easily ironed out, one as a result of committing an empty net, and looked defensively solid for the remaining 90 minutes without Stanley Okumu or Ybarra. This likely means they lose a bye if they do indeed make the NPSL playoffs which are so close to being in their grasp, but their destiny in the division lies in their hands still. They will return to action Tuesday the 26th in Kalamazoo for the Milk Cup semi-finals against Kalamazoo FC, before returning home on Friday the 29th in the biggest match of the season, a date with FC Columbus. The home stretch is finally here and AFC Ann Arbor will need to finish strong.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for live AFC Ann Arbor coverage as well as additional coverage of Michigan basketball and Liverpool FC.
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