For the second time in three days, Union Omaha found itself on the brink of a penalty shootout only for a very late goal to hand them a painful loss. This time it was Javier Martin Gil finding the game winner three minutes into injury time to claim all the points in the first ever meeting between the two clubs. Missael Rodriguez continued his goal-scoring form and Pedro Dolabella added one from a penalty, but it wasn’t enough to hold off Spokane. Goals from Andre Lewis and former Owl Luis Gil equalized each time before Martin Gil settled the scoreline at 3-2.
After playing 120’ in midweek, and given the lineup from the last Jäegermeister Cup lineup, a little rotation was expected in the Omaha lineup. However, only three of the starters from the previous match made the starting XI: Lagos Kunga, Pedro Dolabella, and Luca Mastrantonio. Wallis Lapsley would take his place as this competition’s keeper, while Missael Rodriguez started up top in an attempt to utilize his pace and skill to attack a really good Spokane defense.
Velocity Coach Leigh Veidman would roll out almost the exact lineup that had fallen to Central Valley on penalties in their previous match two weeks prior. The only change was Congolese winger Ariel Mbumbu, getting his first action against League One competition, in place of Josh Dolling.
Once again, the Owls would find themselves under pressure early. The energy and pressing were there, but Spokane’s pace, passing, and positioning made it easy for them to beat the press and advance past midfield in the opening stages. Such provided the first really dangerous chance of the night only 4’ into the match.
Playing out of the back, Spokane pushed the ball up the right side to Romain Métanire. The experienced defender looked briefly upfield in time to see Luis Gil make a quick slash up the middle and past former teammate Luca Mastrantonio. With Gil streaking toward goal and the pass taken right on his toe, Luca had little choice but to try to out-muscle him to the ball. It was a little too much as Gil collapsed under the challenge just short of the penalty area. Not only did Spokane earn itself a free kick from a great area, but Luca earned a yellow card for his troubles.
That sparked a chaotic few minutes for Omaha that saw several good chances either squandered by the Velocity, or expertly saved by Wallis. The Owls were not sharp in their movements nor in the midfield which led to several rounds of possession with Spokane regaining the ball quickly after clearances.
But despite the chaos, it was Missael Rodriguez who would open the scoring against the run of play. Adam Aoumaich, on the left side and with few good options, managed to pick out an almost completely uncovered Lagos Kunga to switch the play to the right. With acres of space in front of him, Lagos placed a great through ball to Missael, who had found a bit of an extra gear to speed past the Spokane defenders to the right side of the box. Taking the ball in stride, Missael put the ball on his right foot and launched a shot through Carlos Merancio’s legs and into the far corner of the net for an improbable early lead.
This would be Rodriguez’ fourth goal in five games (all competitions) as the Chicago Fire loanee is turning out to be one of our most potent weapons up front. His speed, combined with Lagos’ timing and precisely weighted distribution, is what made this goal, with credit to Adam for being able to pick out the pass when almost nothing in the midfield had been working.
But as brilliant as Lagos’ pass was, equally as baffling was the play that led to Spokane’s first equalizer just five minutes later. Off a throw in on the left side, Pedro Dolabella managed to challenge the ball and flick it over to Brandon Knapp. Brandon found Lagos, who was tracking back to help out on the throw. With Andre Lewis right behind him, he dribbled back to the edge of his own penalty area. Having two outlets between Anderson Holt and Luca Mastrantonio, but feeling Lewis’ pressure slightly let off, Kunga attempted to turn and dribble past his marker. That was when the Spokane midfielder put a toe just in front of the ball on Lagos’ turn, nicked it off him at around 12-yards out, and blasted into the net almost before Wallis even knew the ball was gone.
While Lagos’ distribution was again top class this match, the unsuccessful dribbles and the decision making would end up becoming a theme on the night. After going 4/5 on dribbles against Sporting KC, he would end up 2/11 against Spokane, including that turnover which broke down a (to that point) defense that had been very good at recovering and denying chances that the Velocity found early on in the match.
After the equalizer, the Owls would start to get more into their game. The passing cleaned up a bit and they were able to use their pace and physical presence to force a few more dangerous looks and call Merancio more into action at the Spokane goal. At the same time, Spokane continued to get their chances, generally finding space up the wings and crossing in for what would often be free headers that never quite found the target.
Even with the game opening up a little, the two sides would find themselves still tied at the half. The hosts went into the locker room probably expecting that they should have had more. Omaha could have made the same claim, but probably felt good going into the break still on level terms. They were losing the possession and passing battles, but the defense had kept them in it as they equalled Spokane in total shots, shots on target, and most importantly, goals.
Starting the second half, the Owls looked to have gotten settled a bit. The press was getting more effective, they were winning the early aerial balls, and the team looked to be playing much better than they’d started the first half. That form would be rewarded only four minutes after the restart in the form of a penalty drawn by Missael Rodriguez.
Cycling the ball in the back, halftime substitution Marco Milanese pushed forward on the right side in an attempt to find some space. He managed to find Rodriguez and put a ball just in front of him on the edge of the penalty area. His marker, Ahmed Longmire, managed to get his head on the ball to flick it away, but the ensuing motion saw him pull Missael down inside the box. The referee pointed to the spot without hesitation, and Longmire can consider himself lucky not to have been booked—if not for the challenge, then for booting the ball halfway up the pitch in frustration.
With a chance to take the lead back, Pedro Dolabella would step up to take the kick. Merancio was able to read the Brazilian’s shot and dove to his left to save it. The shot was too perfectly placed, low and just inside the post, and the diving keeper watched it go past his glove and across the line for a 2-1 Union Omaha lead.
The celebrations were again short lived as Spokane redoubled their attacks immediately after the score. Dangerous runs, crosses, and free headers came at the Owls, but it was another bad turnover that would set up the equalizer from a familiar face.
Lagos found himself caught in possession again, this time double teamed in the defensive half and against the right touchline. After a bit of a scramble, Derek Waldeck would come away with the ball and start pushing up into the attacking third. Between three defenders, Waldeck would find Kimami Smith who cut inside toward the box. He pushed the ball on to Luis Gil, who was almost dispossessed by Pedro closing him down from behind, but the ball managed to stay right on Gil’s foot. With the defender out of the way and a clean shot on goal, Gil put the ball just out of the reach of Wallis for the Spokane’s second equalizer of the night.
From here the match started going back the way it was in the first half. Spokane was very good in pressure and passing, seemingly energized again by Gil’s equalizer. They would continue to have the lion’s share of the momentum and bigger chances during as the second half moved along. The same culprits—quick runs in behind, well placed crosses and a couple more free headers made it feel like it would not be a surprise if Spokane managed to find the scoresheet again.
For the most part, however, our defense stepped up. Wallis continued to show his quality, making saves from the free headers with excellent positioning or diving to parry a smashed shot. With some occasional luck from a shot off target, the Owls managed to hold the game level.
There were even a couple of good chances for Omaha to get a third goal. Missael would have two chances in very dangerous positions, but neither of them would pan out. The first came on a penalty shout as Rodriguez took a long pass and flicked the ball ahead for himself into the box. Derek Waldeck stood his ground and obstructed the striker from getting back onto the ball, sending him to the floor again. The referee would have none of it this time and waved him up.
The second big chance came from almost exactly the same position after Missael got the ball in space on a well executed counter attack. With one defender to beat, he shifted the ball onto his right foot and let off a shot that had plenty of pace, but was just left of the goal mouth.
Ultimately, Spokane would foil all of Omaha’s remaining attacks and find a bit of additional time magic of their own. In the 90’+3’, Josh Dolling would begin the attack from midfield as he found Javier Martin Gil on the right side. Martin Gil was able to push forward and found a centering pass back to Dolling outside the box. Dolling picked out Romain Métanire on the wing who put another dangerous cross into the box. This time, however, it was a free flick of the other Gil’s foot that deflected the pass just up and over Wallis. The home crowd erupted, Martin Gil took a yellow for removing his shirt, and for the second time in quick succession a moment of switch off at the back led the Owls to defeat.
The Positives
The depth of this team continues to impress me. In my last recap for the Jäegermeister Cup win over NoCo, I called out Wallis as a great pickup and a keeper that could start on almost any other team in League One. But consider this: we had a heavily rotated side off the back of a physically and mentally taxing loss. Despite losing the possession and passing battle, the defense managed to keep most of the attacks out of Wallis’ goal. The team played well together at times, and even under pressure, it was two big mental mistakes that really kept Spokane in the game long enough to win it at the end. That is amazing considering the turnover in the team.
This team was good enough to win this match, and for the first time in a while I don’t have to look at the depth chart and cringe. Not that I want more injuries, and we definitely miss the experience that Steevan, PC, and Dion (who was not listed on the team sheet) when they aren’t playing, the second line is going to be just fine.
The Negatives
I want to preface this by saying that I love Lagos Kunga. He’s a quality player, and his distribution and passing stats are constantly among the best of our attack. He can get into space, he can find the open man, and he can put the ball in net. He has a lot of skills that are excellent at this level and will continue to grow.
However…
Aside from his showing against Sporting, he has been caught in possession a lot lately. As I mentioned in the main recap, he was 2/11 on dribbles against Spokane, and two of those unsuccessful dribbles led to goals. He seemed to hesitate in his decision making on the turnover for Lewis’ goal, and I’ve seen him try some audacious dribbles between defenders. To his credit, sometimes it works (or at least draws a foul). More often than not though, it hasn’t.
Over all competitions, he is 14/32 on his dribbles, which seems to imply that either he doesn’t have the skill for the dribbles, or he’s taking on dribbles with a lower probability of success. Given that I’ve seen him make some great moves with the ball, I tend to believe it’s the latter. Full disclosure here though, this is only a perception. I’d need to do a significant review of the data to make a full assessment on that.
Believe it or not, I didn’t write that just to pick on Lagos. The real negative here is that mental switch off that happens with somewhat regularity and is starting to hurt us more. It’s not always players like Lagos. Against Tormenta, Pedro had a bit of a head scratcher that led to a goal. Brandon Knapp and Luca both had a moment that was unlike them against NoCo that led to goals. The mental bit gets passed around its fair share—it just happens that it was Lagos’ turn in the chaos chamber this time. But these are the “moments of chaos” to which I believe Dom was referring after the Tormenta match. This team is good…really good. They just have to clean up a couple of these costly errors.
Interesting Facts:
- I’ll get the painful one out of the way first: over the last two matches, Union Omaha has trailed for only 8 minutes out of 210. Of course, they lost both of them.
- Ok, second painful one: this was the first time that the Owls have lost to a League One team in regulation since July 15, 2023; a 3-0 road loss to Lexington SC
- This is only the sixth time in Union Omaha history that they’ve lost two consecutive matches (all competitions). The last time was May 27/June 3, 2023 against Madison (1-2) and Charlotte (3-0). Omaha has only once lost three consecutive matches; in the 2020 season.
Key Events:
Union Omaha Yellow Card: 4’ – Luca Mastrantonio (Tactical Foul)
Union Omaha Goal: 11’ – Missael Rodriguez (A: Lagos Kunga)
Spokane Velocity Goal: 16’ – Andre Lewis (Unassisted)
Union Omaha Sub: 45’ – Marco Milanese ON; Luca Mastrantonio OFF
Union Omaha Goal: 51’ – Pedro Dolabella (Penalty)
Spokane Velocity Goal: 56’ – Luis Gil (Unassisted)
Union Omaha Yellow Card: 65’ Marco Milanese (Foul)
Union Omaha Sub: 65’ – Joe Gallardo ON; Will Perkins OFF
Union Omaha Sub: 66’ – Nortei Nortey ON; Zeiko Lewis OFF
– Aáron Gómez ON; Adam Aoumaich OFF
Spokane Velocity Sub: 73’ – Jack Denton ON; Collin Fernández OFF
– Josh Dolling ON; Ariel Mbumba OFF
Spokane Velocity Sub: 83’ – Javier Martin Gil ON; Luis Gil OFF
– Camron Miller ON; Marcelo Lage OFF
Union Omaha Sub: 83’ – Blake Malone ON; Pedro Dolabella OFF
Union Omaha Yellow Card: 90+1’ – Aáron Gómez (Dissent)
Spokane Velocity Goal: 90+3’ – Javier Martin Gil (A: Romain Métanire)
Spokane Velocity Yellow Card: 90+3’ – Javier Martin Gil (Removing Shirt)
Who Gives A Hoot? 