Steevan Dos Santos continues showing off why he’s just as dangerous as he always was. An early brace set Union Omaha on the path to a 4-2 victory over the visiting Chattanooga Red Wolves Thursday night in Jägermeister Cup play. Ricky Ruiz and Stefan Lukic managed to draw Chattanooga level before halftime on two well-taken goals. But an unbending second half onslaught, led by Lagos Kunga and Pedro Dolabella, ensured the 3,061-strong crowd were rewarded for braving the potential bad weather to see this in person.
Coach Dominic Casciato made four changes to the side that lost to Madison last week, starting with the return of Wallis Lapsley to his Jägermeister Cup spot. Lapsley, who sat out the last Cup match against Spokane, was joined by Lagos Kunga (starting in place of Aáron Gómez) and Brandon Knapp (taking the place of Marco Milanese). Finally, Steevan Dos Santos got his first start since returning from injury, rotating the players around the formation and allowing Dion Acoff a much deserved rest week.
Scott MacKenzie countered with three changes to the team from their comeback victory against Tormenta last Saturday. The backline saw Yahir Paez and Declan Watters replace Leo Folla and Owen Green while the ever-dangerous Chevone Marsh took a seat on the bench to make way for Stefan Cvetanovic.
It appeared, pretty quickly, that those changes didn’t work out as well as MacKenzie had hoped for.
Chattanooga started the game well enough taking quite a bit of possession of the ball. Union Omaha’s press was decent enough, but the Red Wolves kept finding ways to get around the defenders and work the ball into open areas. The defense managed to hold off any chances that developed out of their possession, but it wasn’t a great sign for the first couple of minutes.
But the first sustained bit of possession for Omaha turned into the opening goal. After the Chattanooga defense headed a long free kick out for a corner, Joe Gallardo stepped up to remind the Red Wolves that conceding set pieces isn’t always the best strategy. His looping in-swinger to the back post found Steevan’s head, even with three visiting defenders positioned between him and the incoming pass. From there, the Cape Verdean directed the ball easily past TJ Bush for the 1-0 lead.
The quick goal seemed to make Chattanooga even more determined to keep the ball and find an equalizer. The visitors enjoyed another sustained spell of momentum over the next 15 minutes with the Owls unable to maintain possession or release the pressure. The Red Wolves kept finding passing and dribbling lanes through the middle to get into some good attacking positions. The final ball always seemed lacking, however, as the chances would go harmlessly out of play or into Wallis’ hands.
It was the Owls who would find and put away the next dangerous attack. After PC Giro won a free kick on the right side, just inside midfield, Joe stepped to the ball again and delivered a perfect long pass toward the back post. The ball found Blake Malone around the six-yard box who headed it back across the goal area. With the defense and keeper flooding toward Blake, Steevan was able make an unmarked run and poke the ball over the line to double the lead.
From there, Union Omaha found a lot more possession and success in attack as Chattanooga seemed a little shell shocked having given up two goals mostly against the run of play. Lanes opened up for through balls and runs, although they often were just enough off the mark to miss some huge chances. The front line and midfield started finding more success in the press with the Red Wolves finding it harder and harder to work through midfield and maintain as much of the ball as they’d enjoyed in the first 20 minutes. A couple of brilliant saves by Bush and some wide shots seemed to be the only thing keeping the game at 2-0.
The pressure even managed to get to MacKenzie, who must have felt the match was getting out of hand because he made the unusual move to make a double substitution well before the halftime whistle. The largely ineffective duo of Omar Gómez Tapia and Yahir Paez went off in the 36’ for Owen Green and the very lately available Ricky Ruiz, in his first action since suffering a concussion 13-days prior in a loss at Charlotte Independence.
Though unusual, the change seemed to be effective and it didn’t take long to prove so. Within 3 minutes, Green made a run to get in behind Blake and to the end of a long forward ball from Ualefi. The sub put a ground cross right into the path of Mayele Malango who just missed getting to it in a fortunate break for the Owls. It was a warning shot that the Red Wolves weren’t going to stay quiet.
If that warning shot wasn’t heeded, the next one would have to be. In the 40’, on a quick transition after an easily saved shot from Joe, Malango found himself in acres of space in the center of midfield. With several defenders back, the Chattanooga forward laid the ball off to Cvetanovic to enter the right side of the Omaha box. Just as it looked like he’d be stopped by six Owls congregating to the ball, he managed to just get a cut back off and into the path of a trailing Ruiz. The substitute’s shot fired almost immediately from outside the area beating all of the defenders and a diving Wallis to pull one back.
Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be the end of it for the half. The game had opened up and both teams were finding some success in attack, but another banger put more life back into the visitors.
In the final minute of stoppage time, the Red Wolves found another opening after having two close range shots blocked away. Recycling the ball, Jamil Roberts found Stefan Lukic who placed an unexpected knuckling shot from the left side just past Wallis and into the right side goal. It was a well-taken punch that had Chattanooga hoping to complete the turnaround and left Omaha thankful that halftime was finally upon them.
Of course, that hope turned into disappointment a lot sooner than the visitors would have liked.
The second half started pretty evenly—for about three minutes. That’s when the Owls really started flying at the Red Wolves and pinning them back. Dominating the creative attacking play, if not fully dominating possession, Omaha started firing away at the stunned Chattanooga defense—so much that of the starting outfield players only Luca Mastrantonio and Mechack Jérôme would fail to get a shot off. Everything was running the hosts way.
So it was no surprise when Lagos finally put Union Omaha in front in the 54’. After a bit of kick around on a throw in, Joe took the ball up the right and cut inside torching Green as he did so. Dribbling up toward the box Joe found Missael running overlap to the left side of the box. Once again, Green found himself unable to win back possession as the forward’s dribble left the defender on the turf. A quick charge then beat Gustavo Fernandes and allowed a point blank shot at Bush. Bush saved that, and another quick shot, but the ball rebounded back to Missael to try to round the keeper. As two Chattanooga defenders moved up to stop the shot, Missael managed just enough of a toe on the ball to get it to Lagos. Lagos put his boot through the ball and struck the back of the net for the lead.
By this point the Owl attacks were splitting the Red Wolves wide open with great consistency. Two minutes later, Pedro Dolabella almost found the scoresheet but hit the post. Lagos and Missael found another couple of chances that easily could’ve gone in. The midfield was stepping up and cutting out every outlet and run of possession that Chattanooga could muster. When Omaha did turn the ball over, good marking and quick thinking got the ball back before any threat could manifest.
Just as it seemed that Omaha might regret missing so many chances, Pedro finally restored the two goal advantage. In the 67’, Joe’s quick feet cut the beginning of a Chattanooga run before it could get out of the attacking third. Pushing the ball up, he found Nortei Nortey running up the center. As the midfielder approached the box, the defense collapsed toward him opening Pedro up on the right side of the area. Running on to the ball, the Brazilian hit a first time shot with a much higher degree of difficulty than his earlier miss. The cross-body strike went to the far post and easily evaded Bush for the Owls’ fourth goal of the night.
This time Omaha wouldn’t sit back and allow Chattanooga the chance to equalize as they’d done in the first half. The defense stayed switched on and compact, countering well and occasionally looking for a fifth goal. They were able to take any teeth that the Red Wolves may have had in attack, and for most of the final 25 minutes it seemed the visitors wouldn’t be able to mount even the semblance of a comeback.
That is until a quick counter called Wallis into unexpected action. In the 84’, PC sent a free kick into the box that was headed away and sprang Malango up the left side on a lightning fast break. With only PC and Knapp able to rush back to defend, Malango made it all the way inside the Omaha area. With nothing left in front of him, the Chattanooga forward squared the ball to Chevone Marsh who had been trailing the play. Expecting a wide open net, Marsh tried to just pop the ball into the net. However, Wallis made an amazing recovery from his position on Malango and dove across the deny the goal. The rebound was just as dangerous with Stefan Lukic barreling down and looking for a brace of his own. But Luca made the run back step for step and put the midfielder off just enough that his strike went wide of the net, securing the two-goal lead and preserving a certain Save of the Week nomination for Wallis.
As nerve wracking as that sequence was, it would be the final major attack for the Red Wolves. Omaha continued their effective press, maintained possession very well, and held on for a professional performance to close the match out. When the final whistle sounded, the once-bogeymen from Chattanooga had fallen to the Owls for the third consecutive match.
The win put Omaha briefly at the top of Group 3 in the Jägermeister Cup standings (though Northern Colorado’s victory Saturday night returned the Hailstorm to the top spot). They extended their lead for the Wild Card slot, putting home their 12th goal of the competition, 5 goals ahead of the nearest Wild Card competitors (Charlotte Independence and Central Valley Fuego FC). After a shaky start in the tournament, the Owls find themselves in great position to make the last four with three games left in group play.
Quotes From the Match:
Lagos Kunga:
Asked about how it felt to get the go-ahead goal – “It was good…just always shout out to my team. Now that I’m back in the starting lineup…I hope we can, I can, start integrating with the team and start building that connection. And, hopefully, there’s more to come.”
On how his dribbling skills have come along this year – “I came into preseason really hot, and then I had the hammy injury, so I was out the first few games. When I tried to come back, I tried to force it way too much instead of taking my time…I had people around me who helped me and … told me take it step by step. As time went on, I started picking up my confidence again. Dribbling is my game…I love when I have the ball and if I can make something, so I always want the ball.”
Dominic Casciato:
On his thoughts on the match and the first half – “I think they’re a dangerous team, and ended up being a bit of a chaotic game in the first half. I think we lacked a little bit of aggression…I think our pressing was generally pretty good. But then we let them off the hook on too many occasions. So, in moments where we pressed well, forced them where we wanted to force them, and then just to be aggressive and take the ball from them, we didn’t do that. And that let them get into our box too many times, so that’s something we’ve definitely got to address, but I think in the second half the guys responded really well. Obviously got the two goals and ended up being pretty comfortable in the second half, but first half for sure, there are things we need to address there, we need to be more aggressive.”
On Wallis’ save – “Yeah, That was a scary one. Again…they’re dangerous, they’ve got good players, I think they’re well coached. I think first and foremost, we could probably end it a little bit earlier…it shouldn’t get to our box, but Wallis makes a great save. And I can’t remember who it was tracking back, but whoever that was did a great job to put the guy off as well for the rebound, so good team effort there to make the save. You know, we focus a lot on keeping teams out of our box, so we’ve got to do a better job there.” (Author’s Note: Luca Mastrantonio was the player who tracked back.)
On Lagos’ ball control and dribbling success – “I think, probably the goal against Kansas City probably gave Lagos a lot of confidence. He had an injury earlier in the year that I think set him back a little bit because in preseason he was absolutely on fire. And I think he’s starting to get back to that level. You’ve seen some of the goals he’s scored in recent weeks has been breathtaking, and I thought he was very good again tonight.”
On the possibility of Isaac Bawa getting a longer-term deal – “Potentially. Obviously, we’re pleased with Isaac. He’s come into the team, integrated with the group really well. He’s a hard worker, he brings what we want to see in training. You know, if he continues to perform, he’s got every chance of earning a deal. We’re pleased with him, and, hopefully, we’ll continue to help him get back to 100 percent, and hopefully he can help the team in the process.”
Next Up:
Union Omaha travels…and travels…and travels for a full month before their next home match. Opponents include Lexington SC (July 6), the Battle for the Belt against Greenville Triumph (July 13), and the return Jägermeister Cup fixture against Northern Colorado Hailstorm (July 20). The Owls finally come home on July 27 to face…the Chattanooga Red Wolves.
The Positives:
- The lineup was somewhat rotated, and yet we got the same result against a Chattanooga team that has no reason to really scare us anymore. The attack was creative, the pressure was constant, and the defense was (mostly) solid. Dom pointed to the lack of aggressiveness as something to work on, but it really didn’t affect the outcome in the end. There was never a sense that the Owls wouldn’t score again, and there was almost no threat from the Red Wolves. That means that Omaha controlled the game, dictated the pace, and was able to survive the chaos that led to an equalizer after going up 2-0.
All of the players looked confident, and almost all of them took a shot at goal. When you get that many shots off, that many on target, and 14 of them came from inside the box, it means you’re working the ball well and creating position. The midfield pressed and created turnovers while also managing to get back and cut off anything that tried to go through the middle (at least after the first few minutes). It was as complete a team performance as you will see, considering two goals still went in.
The Negatives:
- Two goals still went in. Yes, they were bangers, but Dom’s point about cutting things off early and stepping up in aggression has to be addressed. While it never felt like Chattanooga could hurt us for the majority of the game, the fact is that they did hurt us. Twice. On chaotic plays where someone stepping up to take the cut back option might have prevented it. You’re never going to stop every shot, but the Red Wolves got two goals on a 0.39 xG. By the end of the match, they’d raised that to 0.93 xG…and only an amazing save by Wallis kept it at two goals.
The issue is that teams are taking those chances really well against us, so any little let off is giving life to an otherwise battered and defeated opponent. That may work fine against teams like the Red Wolves, but won’t get you to the top of the table. At least not for long and definitely not deep into the playoffs.
Interesting Facts:
- Union Omaha put 25 shots up against the Red Wolves. The anomaly here is that 17 of them were on target. I’m still doing the stat tracking on this, but I believe that is the highest number of shots on target in club history.
- That also means that TJ Bush saved 13 of those 17 shots. I’m going out on a limb and saying that is likely a League One career high for him, and possibly a record.
- Union Omaha actually LOST the possession battle in this match (49.4% – 50.6%). They also lost the passing and passing accuracy stats, but dominated in the final third passes (104 – 78) and final third accuracy (58.7% – 53.8%)…which should explain the scoreline.
- The Owls only took 1 yellow card. They also were out-fouled 10-20, but didn’t look pushed around at all.
- Even though this is a recap of the Thursday night match, the Unified team went to Colorado to play a return fixture against Switchbacks FC Unified on Saturday night. The Unified Owls continued their lifetime unbeaten run with a 1-4 victory after leading 0-3 at halftime. Congrats again to our athletes who continue to represent our crest so well!
- Finally, the Prideraiser Event has come to an end for the year. The final tally is 14 goals raising $3,584 for Omaha For Us. To all who donated, and everyone who put in a goal, well done! (A special shout-out to Chattanooga and TJ Bush. 9 of those 14 goals were against you. Thank you!)
Key Events:
Union Omaha Goal: 4’ – Steevan Dos Santos (2nd) (A: Joe Gallardo – 1st)
Chattanooga Red Wolves Yellow Card: Stefan Cvetanovic (Bad Challenge)
Union Omaha Goal: 20’ – Steevan Dos Santos (3rd) (A: Blake Malone – 1st)
Chattanooga Red Wolves Yellow Card: 34’ – TJ Bush (Dissent)*
Chattanooga Red Wolves Subs: 37’ – Owen Green ON; Yahir Paez OFF
– Ricky Ruiz ON; Omar Gómez Tapia OFF
Chattanooga Red Wolves Goal: 40’ – Ricky Ruiz (1st) (A: Stefan Lukic – 1st)
Chattanooga Red Wolves Goal: 45’+5’ – Stefan Lukic (1st) (A: Jamil Roberts – 1st)
Union Omaha Goal: 54’ – Lagos Kunga (2nd) (A: Missael Rodriguez – 1st)
Union Omaha Subs: 64’ – Aáron Gómez ON; Missael Rodriguez OFF
– Nortei Nortey ON; Steevan Dos Santos OFF
Chattanooga Red Wolves Subs: 65’ – Chevone Marsh ON; Stevan Cvetanovich OFF
66’ – Leo Folla ON; Declan Watters OFF
Union Omaha Goal: 67’ – Pedro Dolabella (3rd) (A: Nortei Nortey – 1st)
Union Omaha Yellow Card: 68’ – Pedro Dolabella (Bad Challenge)
Chattanooga Red Wolves Yellow Card: 76’ – Gustavo Fernandes (Bad Foul)
Union Omaha Sub: 77’ – Isaac Bawa ON; Joe Gallardo OFF
Chattanooga Red Wolves Sub: 84’ – Leopoldo Plascencia ON; Lucas Coutinho OFF
Union Omaha Subs: 87’ – Zeiko Lewis ON; Lagos Kunga OFF
– Mark Bronnik ON; Pedro Dolabella OFF
Chattanooga Red Wolves Yellow Card: 88’ – Lucas Coutinho (Bench – Dissent)
*Note: TJ Bush’s Yellow Card was shown and announced on the pitch, but was not reported in post-match stats.
Who Gives A Hoot? 