The Mighty Oak went into their match against FC Indiana needing three points to secure a bye, and that's exactly what they got and then some. AFC were the team on the front foot from minute one (quite literally) and continued that domination through the entire game for a 9-0 beatdown of the side who finishes the Great Lakes season without a point. Ann Arbor will enter the postseason as the #2 seed in the Midwest with the victory.
What Happened:
If I wanted to keep this brief, I could answer this question with simply "lots and lots of goals". But the way AFC dominated was truly brilliant. Chris Odhiambo had an immediate chance as he was played through just offside. The next minute saw Odhiambo slot AZ Liadi through, but he took his shot just wide of the net. The next minute saw a corner kick and Jack Cawley looping header saved. AFC were off to a running start and it was just a matter of time until they found their breakthrough. That amount of time was seven minutes as Jordan Montoya fed Caio who finished nicely to give the Mighty Oak the 1-0 lead. Caio had another just a few minutes later go just wide of the frame and diving keeper, but AFC would get their second just nine minutes after the first as a short corner was taken by AZ to Stephen Turnbull, who's angled cross met the head of Cawley who buried that chance. The third goal would come in the 40th minute with Liadi skipping past three defenders before finishing past the keeper beautifully in what could be a Mighty Oak Goal of the Year contender. AZ made it 3-0 where it stayed until the half as AFC weathered the occasional, and brief, Indiana waves of attack.
This was somehow just the start and Liadi got his second goal just two minutes into the second half after Odhiambo won possession in the attacking third and slid AZ through for the goal. The attacks kept coming early: Jake Rosen's low ball got past the Indiana keeper but AZ hit it high under pressure, almost the exact same situation followed just minutes later but instead it was Montoya hitting high, then Turnbull crossed one in that met AZ's head and seemed a certain goal, but Indiana's keeper made an unreal kick save to keep it out. Eventually though, AFC would break through again through the left foot of Turnbull as he drilled a shot from outside the box of the inner post and in to make it 5-0. And AFC still had half an hour to play. And AFC still pressed on. AZ took a free kick that was again saved well by the keeper, who kept it out with one hand. AZ then assisted a Montoya goal as his cross met Montoya's head. Ten minutes later it was AZ drawing a penalty and Yuri Farkas, who came on as a substitute, who entered his name onto the scoresheet. From there AFC scored twice more as Rosen beat a man on the left-wing then finished strongly past a keeper who couldn't punch it out of the net and just a minute later Montoya got his second goal off a volley from outside the box. Kyle Breitmeyer tried to make it ten, but his shot was fingertip-saved by the keeper and bounced off the post. AFC flooded goals past their Lafayette based rivals and celebrated the occasion by getting the honor of hoisting the Great Lakes Championship over their heads following the match.
How Did This Happen:
AFC's night was truly won on the wings as AZ Liadi was unbeatable in the attack. I want to highlight a particular goal today and that is the sixth goal, which saw Liadi send a nice cross into the box for Montoya. You can view the play here as the video starts on the official AFC stream of the match at the 1:29:50 mark. You see Yuri Farkas, who made a nice move, ultimately lose possession in the Indiana box, that's where we begin. The goal build up starts with the pressure by AFCAA and the ball being won still in their attacking zone by Caio, but before then note at the 1:29:57 mark how many Ann Arbor men are in that area of the pitch. AZ, Serge Gamwanya, Jordan Montoya, all three men, along with Caio, are in just a small bit of space, which means it is clogged up and Indiana are forced to play it towards a man that Caio has covered up well. Caio moves the ball to Farkas, and you can look and see there is the man covering Farkas and six more defenders in the picture, all of whom are looking at the ball, none of whom pay Liadi the slightest bit of attention. So, when Farkas moves the ball to Montoya, what does he see? Well, pause at the 1:30:07 mark and you can see what Jordan sees, and that's four of the six Indiana defenders moving central leaving a gaping hole on their left side for Montoya to feed Liadi. As Montoya passes to Liadi, he immediately makes a run to the goal losing the man who was supposed to mark him, and you can see if you watch the play that no one even realizes that #4 in black has lost his man. Montoya makes a free run into the box and gets a brilliant goal.
So what does this outline? First, it highlights the weakness of Indiana on the wing. AZ was not the only man who looked unstoppable down the wings tonight, both Jake Rosen and Stephen Turnbull made countless runs down the wing with little resistance from their foes. But, focusing on Liadi, AZ has blossomed into one of the better wings in the division with a lethal dose of pace and power, and it will give the Indiana full-backs nightmares tonight. Second, it shows something that led to Indiana's unraveling, which is a lack of focus. As I pointed out, there were seven men surrounding the play. Five men went central, leaving Liadi open in space, then not one of the central players sufficiently marked Montoya on his run. These are basic errors that will cost you. I understand this was at the 5-0 mark of the game, but committing that sort of mental error is not something you want to breed within yourself as a player no matter the score. Indiana had some decent chances moving forward, when the focus was there they had the opportunity to push forward, but the focus was more often than not lacking. Third, and finally, it shows the sort of thing that makes AFC so dangerous, and that's the ability to cover a team after losing the ball and getting it back in dangerous territory. This is a staple of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool side and a reason they have so many lopsided matches, they always put themselves in position to win a ball back after they lose it. That is exactly what Eric Rudland's side did, and ultimately that sort of positioning comes down to good coaching.
While I could spend the rest of this piece talking about wing-play, I want to acknowledge the efforts in the midfield, especially of Caio and Serge Gamwanya. I have give Marc Ybarra plenty of spotlight as I feel he is overlooked in the league as a top-class midfielder, but both Caio and Gamwanya are stunning in their positions of box-to-box midfielders. Both men tackle well and attack just as well. Gamwanya delivered some sparkling passes that were able to set-up the receiver very well. It really goes to show just what ability he has as he found men on the wings with ease and his passing was a key reason they were able to exploit the wing advantage. Caio, on the other hand, also passed very well, joined Gamwanya as a two-headed midfield presence that seemed to cover the entire pitch. The three men who started today, combined with Michael Shaikly who missed out today, have made up a truly unique in the NPSL midfield all season that has not stopped working and deserves all the credit they get.
I can talk semantics of the win and break down footage and goals all I would like, the fact of the matter is that Ann Arbor are the top team in the division and expect to put performances in like this every night. Nine goals is not a standard performance but this was a complete outing from Rudland's men and against playoff caliber opposition this will need to be the norm if the Mighty Oak wish to make a run through the Midwest Regional and to the National Semis. You would be hard-pressed to find any true faults in the performance, but the key for Ann Arbor will be to take the week off you earned as a result of getting a bye, iron out anything you may have noticed in this match or in practice, and get ready for the biggest matches of the season. The entire AFC staff will want their players in the best form of the season, and a performance like this in the final NPSL match of the season is the perfect build-off point for that.
What's Next:
Well, it's time for the postseason. Ann Arbor will be delighted to go dancing for the third time in as many seasons in the NPSL. At a site to be determined, they will square off with the winner of the Erie/Cleveland match in the quarter-finals. This match occurred tonight, as Erie defeated Cleveland 2-1 to win the East Division Championship, and we will see a rematch of this on the national stage. Meanwhile, on the other end of the bracket, Minneapolis City will take on the winner of Grand Rapids at Duluth in the semi-finals. Grand Rapids slid into the playoffs following Milwaukee's 1-0 victory over Columbus. Everyone is eagerly anticipating the playoffs, but for now, Great Lakes Champions for two consecutive years is a feat worth celebrating for the night.
What Happened:
If I wanted to keep this brief, I could answer this question with simply "lots and lots of goals". But the way AFC dominated was truly brilliant. Chris Odhiambo had an immediate chance as he was played through just offside. The next minute saw Odhiambo slot AZ Liadi through, but he took his shot just wide of the net. The next minute saw a corner kick and Jack Cawley looping header saved. AFC were off to a running start and it was just a matter of time until they found their breakthrough. That amount of time was seven minutes as Jordan Montoya fed Caio who finished nicely to give the Mighty Oak the 1-0 lead. Caio had another just a few minutes later go just wide of the frame and diving keeper, but AFC would get their second just nine minutes after the first as a short corner was taken by AZ to Stephen Turnbull, who's angled cross met the head of Cawley who buried that chance. The third goal would come in the 40th minute with Liadi skipping past three defenders before finishing past the keeper beautifully in what could be a Mighty Oak Goal of the Year contender. AZ made it 3-0 where it stayed until the half as AFC weathered the occasional, and brief, Indiana waves of attack.
This was somehow just the start and Liadi got his second goal just two minutes into the second half after Odhiambo won possession in the attacking third and slid AZ through for the goal. The attacks kept coming early: Jake Rosen's low ball got past the Indiana keeper but AZ hit it high under pressure, almost the exact same situation followed just minutes later but instead it was Montoya hitting high, then Turnbull crossed one in that met AZ's head and seemed a certain goal, but Indiana's keeper made an unreal kick save to keep it out. Eventually though, AFC would break through again through the left foot of Turnbull as he drilled a shot from outside the box of the inner post and in to make it 5-0. And AFC still had half an hour to play. And AFC still pressed on. AZ took a free kick that was again saved well by the keeper, who kept it out with one hand. AZ then assisted a Montoya goal as his cross met Montoya's head. Ten minutes later it was AZ drawing a penalty and Yuri Farkas, who came on as a substitute, who entered his name onto the scoresheet. From there AFC scored twice more as Rosen beat a man on the left-wing then finished strongly past a keeper who couldn't punch it out of the net and just a minute later Montoya got his second goal off a volley from outside the box. Kyle Breitmeyer tried to make it ten, but his shot was fingertip-saved by the keeper and bounced off the post. AFC flooded goals past their Lafayette based rivals and celebrated the occasion by getting the honor of hoisting the Great Lakes Championship over their heads following the match.
How Did This Happen:
AFC's night was truly won on the wings as AZ Liadi was unbeatable in the attack. I want to highlight a particular goal today and that is the sixth goal, which saw Liadi send a nice cross into the box for Montoya. You can view the play here as the video starts on the official AFC stream of the match at the 1:29:50 mark. You see Yuri Farkas, who made a nice move, ultimately lose possession in the Indiana box, that's where we begin. The goal build up starts with the pressure by AFCAA and the ball being won still in their attacking zone by Caio, but before then note at the 1:29:57 mark how many Ann Arbor men are in that area of the pitch. AZ, Serge Gamwanya, Jordan Montoya, all three men, along with Caio, are in just a small bit of space, which means it is clogged up and Indiana are forced to play it towards a man that Caio has covered up well. Caio moves the ball to Farkas, and you can look and see there is the man covering Farkas and six more defenders in the picture, all of whom are looking at the ball, none of whom pay Liadi the slightest bit of attention. So, when Farkas moves the ball to Montoya, what does he see? Well, pause at the 1:30:07 mark and you can see what Jordan sees, and that's four of the six Indiana defenders moving central leaving a gaping hole on their left side for Montoya to feed Liadi. As Montoya passes to Liadi, he immediately makes a run to the goal losing the man who was supposed to mark him, and you can see if you watch the play that no one even realizes that #4 in black has lost his man. Montoya makes a free run into the box and gets a brilliant goal.
So what does this outline? First, it highlights the weakness of Indiana on the wing. AZ was not the only man who looked unstoppable down the wings tonight, both Jake Rosen and Stephen Turnbull made countless runs down the wing with little resistance from their foes. But, focusing on Liadi, AZ has blossomed into one of the better wings in the division with a lethal dose of pace and power, and it will give the Indiana full-backs nightmares tonight. Second, it shows something that led to Indiana's unraveling, which is a lack of focus. As I pointed out, there were seven men surrounding the play. Five men went central, leaving Liadi open in space, then not one of the central players sufficiently marked Montoya on his run. These are basic errors that will cost you. I understand this was at the 5-0 mark of the game, but committing that sort of mental error is not something you want to breed within yourself as a player no matter the score. Indiana had some decent chances moving forward, when the focus was there they had the opportunity to push forward, but the focus was more often than not lacking. Third, and finally, it shows the sort of thing that makes AFC so dangerous, and that's the ability to cover a team after losing the ball and getting it back in dangerous territory. This is a staple of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool side and a reason they have so many lopsided matches, they always put themselves in position to win a ball back after they lose it. That is exactly what Eric Rudland's side did, and ultimately that sort of positioning comes down to good coaching.
While I could spend the rest of this piece talking about wing-play, I want to acknowledge the efforts in the midfield, especially of Caio and Serge Gamwanya. I have give Marc Ybarra plenty of spotlight as I feel he is overlooked in the league as a top-class midfielder, but both Caio and Gamwanya are stunning in their positions of box-to-box midfielders. Both men tackle well and attack just as well. Gamwanya delivered some sparkling passes that were able to set-up the receiver very well. It really goes to show just what ability he has as he found men on the wings with ease and his passing was a key reason they were able to exploit the wing advantage. Caio, on the other hand, also passed very well, joined Gamwanya as a two-headed midfield presence that seemed to cover the entire pitch. The three men who started today, combined with Michael Shaikly who missed out today, have made up a truly unique in the NPSL midfield all season that has not stopped working and deserves all the credit they get.
I can talk semantics of the win and break down footage and goals all I would like, the fact of the matter is that Ann Arbor are the top team in the division and expect to put performances in like this every night. Nine goals is not a standard performance but this was a complete outing from Rudland's men and against playoff caliber opposition this will need to be the norm if the Mighty Oak wish to make a run through the Midwest Regional and to the National Semis. You would be hard-pressed to find any true faults in the performance, but the key for Ann Arbor will be to take the week off you earned as a result of getting a bye, iron out anything you may have noticed in this match or in practice, and get ready for the biggest matches of the season. The entire AFC staff will want their players in the best form of the season, and a performance like this in the final NPSL match of the season is the perfect build-off point for that.
What's Next:
Well, it's time for the postseason. Ann Arbor will be delighted to go dancing for the third time in as many seasons in the NPSL. At a site to be determined, they will square off with the winner of the Erie/Cleveland match in the quarter-finals. This match occurred tonight, as Erie defeated Cleveland 2-1 to win the East Division Championship, and we will see a rematch of this on the national stage. Meanwhile, on the other end of the bracket, Minneapolis City will take on the winner of Grand Rapids at Duluth in the semi-finals. Grand Rapids slid into the playoffs following Milwaukee's 1-0 victory over Columbus. Everyone is eagerly anticipating the playoffs, but for now, Great Lakes Champions for two consecutive years is a feat worth celebrating for the night.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for live coverage of AFC Ann Arbor as well as Michigan basketball and Liverpool FC.
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