It was a literal tale of two halves as Union Omaha overcame some sloppy play and even sloppier weather to defeat the Independence 4-1 on Friday night in Charlotte. Goals from Pedro Dolabella and Lagos Kunga bookended a Missael Rodriguez brace to complete the victory in a battle of two teams at the top of the League One table.
Dominic Casciato made two changes from the side that started in the 0-0 draw the last time these to met. Rodriguez was set up top alongside Aàron Gómez in place of Lagos Kunga. Blake Malone, who was injured for the home fixture, returned to the back line moving Marco Milanese out take Ryen Jiba’s role.
Charlotte coach Mike Jeffries made only one change from the earlier season match, running out Anton Sorenson in place of the injured Fabrice Ngah. The Independence team sheet also saw the return of Shalom Dutey and Omar Ciss, finding their way onto the bench after being out injured.
The first half started out very positively as Omaha took the kickoff and immediately pressed the attack by working a long ball in from Mechach Jerôme into the attacking third. Gómez was able to take possession after a small back and forth and won a free kick from about 35 yards out on the right. Joe Gallardo stepped up to take the kick and whipped a great shot in, but it was precisely where Charlotte keeper Austin Pack was standing.
Shortly thereafter, the Owls had a chance to take full advantage of a dreadful mistake by the Jacks. Off of a cleared Charlotte free kick, Malone put enough pressure on Bachir Ndiaye to force a back pass that Dolabella pounced on just shy of midfield. With Rodriguez running and only one backpedaling defender to beat, Pedro tried to run a through ball for Missael to run on. There wasn’t enough power on the pass to overcome the wet pitch and Ryan Djedje was able to cut the pass out easily.
This would turn out to be a theme for the rest of the first half, especially as conditions worsened. Several passes were either not hit hard enough, or were inaccurately placed so that their intended target couldn’t get onto it. This wouldn’t be just a Union Omaha problem, as Charlotte often struggled with their own passing. In fact, both sides would combine for 12 interceptions in the first half as occasional wayward passing thwarted potential attacks on both sides.
That would be the case for Omaha to create the first big Independence chance of the match. In the 9’ Luca Mastrantonio attempted a long pass to the midfield that skipped well past any Owl and found its way into the Jacks’ defense. The ball found it’s way to Ndiaye who found Luis Àlvarez with room to run into the final third. A good dribble and Àlvarez was able to find a slashing Djedje who was free in on goal. It took a diving save from Nuhu to keep the score level early.
The teams continued to go back and forth at each other with mistakes offering up good opportunities at both ends. As the rain got heavier and heavier, there were some obvious issues plaguing Omaha for their preferred attacking style. However, the defense remained compact and were generally able to cover against the counter when mistakes would happen. A few times the team looked to be caught out, such as in the 26’ when a bad pass from Dion Acoff started a whole field break for Charlotte. Even though outnumbered, the vanguard of the back line would hold up play long enough for Dion to get on his horse and make it all the way back to make good on his defensive duties. It seems to follow the same pattern, which is what allows Omaha to attack the way it does with confidence.
That confidence would get shattered not long after, as Charlotte opened the scoring. A long clearance was cut out by Clay Dimick who started a quick counter. Dribbling forward on the right side, he appeared to pick out Àlvarez near the top of the box. However, Àlvarez let the ball run through and onto the feet of JC Obregon. Obregon worked the ball to his left and rolled an unbalanced shot toward goal. The ball appeared to take a slight deflection of Malone, which was just enough to get the slowing shot past a diving Nuhu. It wasn’t the prettiest goal in the world, but it still gave the Jacks a 1-0 lead.
The rain and the conceded goal seemed to change the demeanor of the team for the worse as the first half drew to a close. Omaha would see two more yellow cards for some physical play, and never really got into a good attacking momentum. By the time the first half whistle blew, the team looked like they didn’t have any answers for the storm they’d just been through.
But just as the rain put a literal damper on the first half, the weather would let up and the team seemed to respond in kind. Dom made a single change, bringing on Lagos for Luca to spark some more attacking play, and the change seemed to work almost immediately. The first minutes of the second half saw more runs, a little more creativity, and some great defense played to stop Charlotte on their attacks, but the Owls still couldn’t seem to find a breakthrough on Austin Pack.
The 54’ minute would finally bring relief and an equalizer a long time coming. The press having been revitalized in the second half, Omaha forced Independence into a giveaway inside their own box. Backed into the left corner, Dimick thought he had an outlet to Djedje to beat the Búho press. Djedje didn’t see Gallardo running in from midfield, and, as he turned to get out of the area, was met with a solid shoulder-to-shoulder challenge that dispossessed him from the ball. Gòmez pounced on the loose ball and found Pedro running in to join the play. With Pack and the rest of the defense out of position, Dolabella found the net to level the score.
From there the Owls were back to their normal look. Though possession remained even, the better chances started coming Omaha’s way. When Charlotte did make pressing attacks, the defense remained compact, and the midfield was able to stay away from some of the fouls that had brought in yellow cards and free kicks in dangerous positions during the first half.
Then, having waited 264’ in all competitions to score against the Independence, it would only take 8 minutes to do it again. Lagos Kunga (who I have called out for his attempted dribbles previously…like last week), took the ball from the right side of the box and dribbled to the byline. Somehow evading two defenders, he continued his dribble toward Pack’s near post. Then, with a little bit of Búho magic, he threaded a pass that missed Pack and two other defenders waiting to shut him down. That pass found Missael, who was not going to miss from around the penalty spot.
It was an amazing individual effort for Lagos, demonstrating the skills he can bring to bear when he’s on his game. It wouldn’t be the last time his dribbling would open up the Charlotte defense. It was critical in setting up a run by Missael that came very close to drawing a penalty, and would also lead to him scoring later for us.
Charlotte would have their chance to equalize in the 74’ as a frantic sequence saw their best chances of the second half go by the wayside. Off a corner, Rashid stepped up in his box to get a diving glove on the ball to try to put it out for another corner. Nick Spielman managed to get the ball on his chest to save it before looping a cross back into the middle of the box for Dimick to get a clean header on it. With no one else to beat, the crossbar stepped in to rebound the ball back out to Gabriel Obertan who rolled a shot toward net that was kept out only by Dolabella’s timely foot. The rebound from the blocked shot fell to Tresor Mbuyu, who ended the threat by misfiring his shot wide right for a goal kick. In a moment of chaos that often goes against the Owls, they held firm with some compact defending, and a little bit of luck.
Having survived that encounter, Omaha looked to put this game away and not relieve the heartbreak of the last two matches. In the 76’ off an intercepted pass and counter, Pedro found Missael running up the pitch with no one around him. Starting on the left side just inside midfield, he would dribble all the way up to the top of the box, passing one defender, then cutting inside to beat two others and open space for a shot. His right-footed shot to the left side of the net fooled Austin Pack, and the Owls found themselves with a 2-goal cushion.
Despite Charlotte getting a few more opportunities late in the second half, to include a potential penalty shout off a free kick, the Omaha defense cut out everything the Jacks could throw at them. Even with 8 minutes of added time given in the second half, the feeling was that the Owls would see this out, grab the three points, and be happy with an amazing second half performance.
But that didn’t mean that Lagos didn’t want to put the icing on the cake, and further put my nose in any comments made about his dribbling abilities. After Brandon Knapp won a loose ball in the attacking half, he managed to pass it off to Lagos with acres of space to run. He drove down to the edge of the area, and despite having an open layoff pass to open up Zeiko Lewis, Lagos decided to cook the two defenders in front of him. Rounding them, and with only Pack to beat, Lagos chipped the ball up over the sprawling Charlotte keeper who could only watch helplessly as the ball bounced into the goal. It was another moment of quality from Lagos who was able to show his ability as a ball handler as well as a distributor.
When the final whistle blew, an ecstatic Omaha team celebrated not only the win and their place at the top of League One, but also getting rid of their late game struggles. A 4-1 victory against a good side like Charlotte served notice that not only is this team dangerous, but knows how to rebound when things haven’t been going their way. That mentality will serve them very well as they look to repeat as Players Shield winners and bring another cup back to Omaha.
The team finally gets a chance to breathe as their next match brings them home to face a slumping, but still dangerous, Central Valley Fuego team on May 29 in Jäegermeister Cup action. They’ll need to take advantage of all of that rest as following that, the Owls stay home to face Northern Colorado on June 1, then travel to Chattanooga to make up their earlier match (postponed by “field conditions”) on 5 June. Another three-games in eight-day stretch will test their resolve yet again.
From Coach Dominic Casciato-
When asked about what was said to the guys this week to get ready for Charlotte:
“We prepared as we usually do for every opponent, there was nothing too different or special about our messaging for this game. It was about getting back on track and beating a very strong opponent. We didn’t mention that the club had never won in Charlotte, but it was something we were aware of as a staff.“
On the turn around between the first and second halves:
“First half we allowed our standards to drop, and struggled to get effective pressure on the ball. At halftime we made a few tactical adjustments to fix that, and the guys executed those adjustments perfectly.“
On Lagos coming on for Luca for the second half:
“The substitution at half time was part of our tactical adjustments, but Lagos is a top player that can be dangerous anytime he has the ball. He proved that on Friday night and also gave us a huge effort without the ball which was really pleasing to see.“
On Nortei Nortey’s good night and progression:
“Norts played well on Friday night – he has been steadily improving and has had a good run of games now. We understand that there’s always an adjustment period for any new player coming into a new environment, so I’m sure that he and the rest of our new signings will continue to go from strength to strength as the season develops.“
The Positives
Pretty much all of the second half. Dom’s substitutions came at the right time to tweak what the team needed in those moments. The attacking spark from Lagos helped set the tone for the second half turnaround. While I would have loved to see Missael get his shot at a hat trick, pulling him off right after his second goal for Ryen Jiba allowed our defensive back line to reconsolidate while maintaining our ability to press up the wings and put pressure on Charlotte. That, with Zeiko coming in for Joe, also helped stave off the injury bug on a wet pitch where anything could happen. And we definitely can’t afford more injuries to our attackers right now. Knapp was sent out to help kill things off and give Gòmez a rest, but his quick legs and interventions led directly to Lagos getting to show me up one more time with his goal-scoring run.
Aside from the substitutions, the team rebounded really well from both the losses and a pretty ugly first half. Whether the conditions played into the first half or not, the team was able to rally from a goal that while not necessarily a fluke, seemed like it could have been avoided. Taking that kind of a punch on the road after those chaotic moments have led to defeat recently is a good measure of the character of this team.
The Negatives
First, I’m going to go to the opposite side of the previous statement. The first half was ugly, and not just because of the conditions. There was a demeanor about the team that was struggling. I’m not them, so I won’t say what was or wasn’t going on in their heads, but the body language, the pace, and the killer instincts were not on display as much after the opening 5 minutes. This team has played a lot of soccer in the last three weeks, and maybe that was taking a little bit of a toll. It didn’t help conceding that goal after dealing (if only just) with many of the problems Charlotte caused. I don’t know the causes. I can only tell what I could see through the beaded water on the camera lens, and it didn’t look quite right.
I’m also going to get into some of the yellow cards. We seem to take a LOT of them for somewhat preventable reasons. For instance, Dion’s yellow card in the 12’ came from a frustrated and somewhat cynical pull back after being dispossessed and starting a Charlotte counter. With the center backs still back, Nortei in reaction, and Pedro tracking back with him, there seemed to be no reason to pull his man back and get the sure yellow.
While I won’t knock Luca’s or Joe’s yellows (they were legitimate attempts to get to or defend the ball that were just too aggressive), There have been cards taken in every match that seem unnecessary. Don’t get me wrong, I love the physicality, and a well placed tactical foul can definitely prevent a worse outcome than taking a yellow, the team seems to do it a lot when there is coverage or when frustration seems to be more of the driving force behind the challenge.
By all means, keep that passion and that drive to do well, but let’s try to do it without making the ref go to his pocket, ok?
Interesting Facts:
- I already spoiled this one online, but the last time we scored in a match against Charlotte was October 23, 2023. The final score in that one was also 4-1 with Steevan Dos Santos scoring a hat trick. Stranger than that, he also scored in second half added time (90’+5’) for the fourth goal.
- Despite losing the possession battle (48-52), Union Omaha outshot Charlotte 18-12. That’s not the interesting part. 10 of our 18 shots were on target, with 6 of those off target being blocked. That means only 2 of our 18 shots were fired in a way not to bother the defense. That’s a marked improvement over previous matches. In a shout out to our defense, Charlotte only managed 4 of their 12 shots on target.
- Missael Rodriguez is on a major hot streak. He’s scored 6 goals in 4 consecutive matches against League One opponents (Cup and League). In those matches, he’s averaging 1 goal every 45 minutes. Add in his assist against Tormenta, and he’s averaging a goal involvement every 38 minutes. He should be on everyone’s watch list to bring home Union Omaha’s first golden boot, or at least Young Player or Newcomer of the Year.
Key Events:
Union Omaha Yellow Card: 12’ – Dion Acoff (Tactical Foul)
Charlotte Independence Goal: 36’ – JC Obregòn (A: Clay Dimick)
Charlotte Independence Yellow Card: 39’ – Ryan Djédjé (Hard Foul)
Union Omaha Yellow Card: 40’ – Luca Mastrantonio (Bad Challenge)
Union Omaha Yellow Card: 43’ – Joe Gallardo (Bad Challenge)
Union Omaha Sub: 46’ – Lagos Kunga ON; Luca Mastrantonio OFF
Union Omaha Goal: 54’ – Pedro Dolabella (A: Aàron Gòmez)
Uniion Omaha Goal: 62’ – Missael Rodriguez (A: Lagos Kunga)
Charlotte Independence Sub: 64’ – Noah Pilato ON; Ryan Djédjé OFF
64’ – Gabriel Obertan ON; Joel Johnson OFF
64’ – Kharlton Belmar ON; Luis Àlvarez OFF
Charlotte Independence Yellow Card: 73’ – Noah Pilato
Union Omaha Goal: 76’ – Missael Rodriguez (A: Pedro Dolabella)
Union Omaha Sub: 77’ – Zeiko Lewis ON; Joe Gallardo OFF
77’ – Ryen Jiba ON; Missael Rodriguez OFF
Charlotte Independence Sub: 87’ – Miguel Ibarra ON; Bachir Nidaye OFF
87’ – Shalom Dutey ON; Anton Sorenson OFF
Union Omaha Sub: 90’+2’ – Brandon Knapp IN; Aàron Gòmez OFF
Union Omaha Goal: 90’+4’ – Lagos Kunga (A: Brandon Knapp)
Charlotte Independence Yellow Card: 90’+6’ Nick Spielman (Shoving A Player)
Who Gives A Hoot? 