Come one, come all! It’s Week 18 and first-place Union Omaha has a home match on Saturday, August 7th. Kick-off is at 7 PM (CST) and ESPN+ will provide a broadcast of the match on their network. Last week’s match against FC Tucson at Werner Park held 3,722 energetic fans – the second highest in club history. There are still tickets available for Saturday’s match, so if don’t have a ticket and often find yourself suffering from FOMO (fear of missing out), make sure to get your ticket now.
Have I not mentioned who the Owls will be playing? Well, the reason for that is simple: it’s Forward Madison. If your eyes permanently rolling into the back of your head hasn’t prevented you from hearing, have a friend read the next bit as a favor.
Remember in school when the teacher would assign group projects and you were always stuck with that one kid in class? You know which one I’m talking about: the connoisseur of Elmer’s Glue, laughed the loudest at their own jokes, and mistook the assigned partnership as a pact to be life-long best friends? Búhos Nation, I give you Forward Madison. The good news is that Saturday’s match will be the last time the two clubs play in the Regular Season. Since Forward Madison find themselves on the outside of the playoff picture, you could also say that this will be the last time the two clubs will play for the rest of the 2021 USL League One Season, period.
Forward Madison returns to Omaha after drawing with Chattanooga last week. The single point earned from the draw caused them to drop down to 9th place in the league table. It’s only been three weeks since the Flamingos last stepped foot in Omaha, earning a 1-1 draw during the occasion. The neighbors to the north are searching for their first win since June 30th, but will have a difficult time against Union Omaha.
The Owls are undefeated in their last nine matches, collecting 17 out of a possible 27 points. Those points elevated the club to the top spot in the league standings, where Union Omaha has stayed since Week 9. As Saturday’s match approaches, the club boasts some incredible stats at home, as well as on the season. The Owls are undefeated at home, having never conceded the first goal, only conceding five goals at home all season, and leading every home match at halftime. In fact, if you want to find the last time the Owls went into halftime on the losing end of the battle, you’d have to look all the way to September 19th of last year, when the club lost to New England Revolution 2 by a score of 2-0.
Looking at the statistics, this match will come down to two key factors: first half goals and second half defense. Union Omaha has scored seven goals in the first half of home matches this season. That’s an impressive feat alone, but when you factor in the statistic that Forward Madison have also let in seven first-half goals on the road this season, things certainly play in Union Omaha’s favor. Here’s another eerily similar statistic between the two clubs: when looking at all of the first half goals scored by Union Omaha throughout the entire season, the club tends to score their first goal right around the 35th minute. Using the same statistic for Forward Madison, except looking at the overall average of first-half goals scored against them, the Flamingos tend to concede their first goal close to the 32nd minute. Union Omaha will need to have an insurance policy as they head into the second half.
While the Owls have only conceded five goals at home during the 2021 season, four of those goals came in the second half. When playing on the road, Forward Madison has scored eight goals in the second half. Here’s where another weird statistic comes into play. When playing at home, Union Omaha concedes a second-half goal right around the 68th minute. When does Forward Madison, on average, score their second-half goals while on the road? The 69th minute. If Union Omaha is fortunate to find themselves in the lead going into the second half, the team will have to focus on defense and preserving the lead in order to earn three points when the final whistle is blown. There’s no doubt that the Owls know how to score. Now it’s time for them to show that they know how to preserve the lead and win, especially in close matches. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: in all of the matchups between the two clubs, neither team has ever won by more than one goal. In fact, only once has either of the clubs scored two goals in a single match: June 6th of this year, when Union Omaha won 2-1 in Madison, Wisconsin.
Moving away from numbers and more towards personnel, Forward Madison brings a very balanced attack. The team likes to control possession, and they do so with some of the most accurate passers in the league. It’s also interesting to watch their midfield play because they condense the middle, suffocate the opposition, gain possession, and then look to advance up the field with the outside backs supporting the midfield on the flanks. While the team isn’t afraid to attempt crosses into the box, they are more adept at threatening the final third and the penalty area with their thru balls. The team mostly relies on team leading-scorer Jake Keegan to light up the scoreboard, so suffocating him will be a primary concern for Union Omaha’s defense. With Keegan pressured heavily and often, the team will have to turn to other scorers, which is exactly what they’ve done against the Owls this season. In the three previous matchups, the Flamingos scored a total of three goals, all scored by a different player. Keegan will certainly be a threat, but the defense will have to stay alert for Forward Madison teammates looking to fill the role of the scorer.
With all of the business tended to above, look forward to having a great time at the match. Make sure you get to Werner Park early and attend the free tailgate beforehand. Donations are happily accepted, but you can also volunteer your time to help with setup and take down, as well. If you’re sitting in your seats and find yourself wishing to be a part of the fun in the berm, contact Parliament to purchase tickets. There are drums, flags, chants, songs, a trumpeter, and a very intimate vantage point of the match. After the match, if you long for more entertainment related to Union Omaha, check out the Who Gives A Hoot podcast, read the submitted articles at http://www.wgahmedia.com, and follow Who Gives A Hoot on social media (Twitter: @WGaH_Pod Instagram: wgahmedia). Until next time… ¡Viva Búhos!
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