It may have taken a little longer than expected, but Union Omaha secured a 2-1 win for interim head coach Vincenzo Caldera in Charlotte on Saturday night.
Storms in the area delayed the match for over two hours, but there was little to dampen the mood by the time the final whistle blew. Ryan Becher scored in his second straight game and Sergio Ors Navarro found the back of the net to pace the Owls. Charlotte’s super sub Souaibou Marou scored for the second straight match, but it was only a consolation in second half stoppage time to round out the scoring.
Coach Vinnie’s first lineup made only two changes to the side that lost at AV Alta last week, opting to start Prosper Kasim alongside Ryan in place of Joe Gallardo. Ryen Jiba made way for standout defender, and all around good “Yout” Anderson Holt on the back line. Both Joe and Ryen would still be on the bench, but unused as substitutes on the night.
Charlotte’s Mike Jeffries also made two swaps to his lineup. Having featured against Loudon United in Jagermeister Cup play, Juan Romero and Fabrice Ngah came off for Tumi Moshobane and Pele Ousmanou. Romero would feature later off the bench while Ngah missed out due to injury.
By the time the ref called for the opening kick, however, it seemed like the Owls were going to be on the back foot.
Charlotte started out very quickly and held a majority of the threatening possession and chances for the first 10 minutes of the match. A quick attack in the 4th minute showed exactly what they were capable of as Clay Dimick made a cutting run to the touchline and slid a pass to Rafael Jauregui on the right side of the 6-yard box. A timely intervention by Sam Owusu cut out the danger, but it showed where the Jacks pace might be able to threaten as the game wore on.
Not four minutes later, the Owl defense would have to contend with another example as Jauregui made himself a menace again. His run behind the center of the back line drew Knapp along and allowed a well-placed through ball to pick out Bachir Ndiaye on the left side. Jauregui continued his run and Ndiaye was able to play him through to about 8 yards off of Rashid Nuhu’s goal. Part shot, part cross, the young midfielder put the ball across the face of goal and forced Shido to make a diving intervention just past the oncoming Christian Chaney. Even so, the ball fell to Jon Bakero at the back post, but the Spanish striker could only put his shot wide and out for a goal kick. Though it wouldn’t count as an official save, Shido’s reaction surely kept Charlotte off the scoreboard in a critical early moment.
That moment seemed to wake the Owls up and from then they seemed to grow very well into the match. Max Schneider put Charlotte keeper Matt Levy to the test with a long range strike that required an athletic stop to keep out. Not long after Brandon Knapp was able to get a cross to Ryan, who was almost flying, but the header went just over the crossbar. Just at the 25th minute mark, the visitors’ pressure forced a turnover and opened Prosper for a shot of his own. Though his effort did little to trouble Levy, it was a complete turnaround from what the first 10 minutes had brought. The Jacks’ frustration started to grow pretty quickly.
That frustration came in the form of some silly fouls, and one that very well could’ve seen the hosts reduced to 10 men. In the 28th minute, Anderson picked out Ryan up the left side and tried to play him in. Ndiaye, late to react to the pass, put in a hard sliding challenge and upended Ryan just as the ball came in. Referee Servando Berna Rico wasted no time pulling out the yellow card, but it perhaps should’ve been worse. Replays showed the Senegalese midfielder not only late, but in a studs-up challenge and nowhere near winning the ball. While it didn’t produce a red, it was an early sign that the Jacks were willing to get physical and take out some of their frustration on the Owls.
You can imagine that frustration grew even more as Omaha opened the scoring four minutes later. Ryan, recovered from the upending and having the best revenge, made a darting run through the center of the defensive line as Pato Botello Faz carried the ball up the left side of the box. Pato found Charlie Ostrem on an overlap who released a quick low cross toward the center of goal. Ryan beat out a scrambling Romero to get a foot on the ball and get it past the diving Levy for the opening score. It was a goal that felt like it was coming, giving a deserved finish to what had become almost a half hour of constant pressure from the Owls.
The pressure continued up to the closing minutes of the first half as the passing and movement looked the best that Omaha had seen all season. Ryan perhaps was a bit unlucky not to have a brace, denied only by the crossbar after Anderson caused a turnover in the Jacks’ half. It looked as though another one was coming, but it was just a matter of time.
However, the most dangerous time for the Owls this season has been the minutes just before the end of a half, and last night was no different. Despite being out of the match for a long stretch of the game, Charlotte responded to remind the Owls that they weren’t going to give in so easily.
A 44th minute corner kick from Bakero found Nick Spielman for a beautiful header that was just barely kept out by Sam standing tall in the box to block the shot. The scramble that ensued almost gave Chaney a shot, but Sam was the quickest to react and cleared the ball down the pitch.
A minute later the Owls defense lost track of Ousmanou and Chaney picked him out on a run into the left side of the box. Ousmanou drove a low shot that surprised Shido but still ricocheted off of the keeper’s foot and cleared out of the area. Though not considered a shot on goal, Shido’s reactions were again crucial as Charlotte had Jauregui open in the middle to tuck home should the ball have made it through to him. Instead, the clearance allowed the defense to reset its shape, and they were able to see out the rest of the half with the lead intact.
Though the first half performance should have given Union Omaha the confidence to keep up the play going into the second half, the action after the break looked a lot like the first 10 minutes of the game with Charlotte finding itself renewed by their late first half attacks. The Owls seemed pinned at times, and only just able to cut off attacks or clear balls out, but the passing and pressure wasn’t nearly as clean as it had been for large stretches of the match.
That allowed the Jacks’ to get what was best chance of the match up to that point. Passing around and looking for an opening in the Omaha formation, Spielman pushed a pass up to Dimick on the right side of the box. The ball bounced off the Charlotte captain’s touch, but fell to Jauregui who again proved to be dangerous in possession. A sliding challenge from Ryan and good marking from Marco Milanese couldn’t prevent a return pass to Dimick, who had pushed further up the right side of the box. With Anderson moving up to close Dimick down, space opened up between Chelo Martinez and Sam for Omar Ciss to drift unmarked just outside the six yard box. Dimick’s low cross was met with a first-time flick from Ciss that required a lightning reaction from Shido to maintain the clean sheet. It was the kind of play that in previous matches may have punished the Owls, but instead became highlight reel material for the Omaha captain.
Once again, a near-miss by Charlotte seemed to wake Omaha up a little bit, and the game started to fall back into some balance. The Jacks still maintained most of the possession, but the Owls found themselves with a couple of chances that either went wide or were too easy for Levy to claim. For a while, it appeared the visitors would be content with grinding out a 1-0 result. This was especially true after Ryan was forced off with what appeared to be a hamstring issue with just less than 30 minutes to play.
Turned out this wasn’t the case as not two minutes after Ryan’s substitution the Owls struck again. A turnover off a deep Charlotte throw in resulted in a quick counter through the middle that allowed Sergio to push up the right side. Cut off by a well-recovered Jacks defense, Sergio managed to beat his man and cut a pass back centrally to enable Omaha to push up in support. A quick cycle through the middle ended up with Chelo finding Marco pushing high up the left side. Taking only one touch to settle the ball, Marco fired a low cross to the back post looking for someone to get on the end of it. That someone was Sergio, who had cut in front of Ousmanou, and the Spaniard dove to meet the cross leaving Levy no chance for a save. It marked Sergio’s first goal in a month, and only third goal all year.
If the Owls thought that would be the goal to put the game to bed, the Jacks intended to show them how wrong they were. Four minutes later Charlotte found themselves on a counter that saw Marou feed Moreno for a great shot from outside the box that forced Shido into another diving save. The 71st minute then saw another counter, this time with Moreno serving up to Marou with a low cross that probably should’ve been in had Marou not stumbled at the last second and just miss getting a touch. Instead of continuing to dominate possession, it seemed Charlotte had decided to try to cause turnovers and hit Omaha where they were most vulnerable in order to get back into the match.
For the most part, the Owls managed to hold off this tactic and continue to stymie the Jacks. The frustration started to boil over in the final 10 minutes of regulation as several physical fouls, confrontations, and bad challenges resulted in three yellow cards in quick succession for the hosts. It looked like Omaha had gotten the best of them, and would see out their first victory and clean sheet in a month.
But the injury time woes that have plagued the Owls all season would pop up yet again to make the final minutes less comfortable than Vinnie and company would like. 2 minutes into stoppage time, Spielman intercepted a clearance in his attacking zone and started a quick counter. Tresor Mbuyu pushed up the right side and put in a cross to Marou at the back post. The super sub drifted in behind Sam, who seemed to be caught a bit flat, and easily slotted home to close the gap to 1. It was Marou’s 6th goal overall this year, with 5 of them coming from the bench.
Thankfully, the tense moments of to see out the match didn’t lead to a heartbreaking equalizer. Even though Charlotte continued to press and salvage a point, the Owls rebounded from the late goal to stay disciplined and see out the match. For the team, it was their first win in a month and a welcome three points. For Coach Vinnie, it was the perfect beginning to his head coaching career.
The Bad:
Considering we won, and looked the best we have perhaps all season, I’ll start with the bad. Of course, that’s going to be the defensive mistakes and the end-of-half shenanigans that continue to plague this team. There’s still some work to be done on that end, especially against the counter.
For instance, Charlotte’s 8th minute chance came on a quick transition and a ball pushed up the right side. As it crossed midfield, Marco and Sam were pulled toward the ball to help cover for Anderson, who was caught a little further up the pitch than normal. This allowed Jauregui to speed past Brandon Knapp and open up the through ball in the middle. The ball was luckily a little in front of Jauregui, but the lack of defenders on the left allowed Nidaye to pick up the “errant” pass in stride. With Brandon having to chose between the runner and the ball carrier, it was an easy through pass to put Jauregui in position to threaten goal.
Now credit to Brandon for tracking back and being able to hold up the play some in the middle to force the attack outside. However, those are the types of positional miscues that have often led to chances and easy goals. Had Shido not been on his game last night, it very well could have.
When you add to that the tendency to give up great chances at the end of halves, perhaps it was inevitable that the Owls wouldn’t be able to hold on to the clean sheet. A narrow escape at the end of the first half turned prophetic as the chance at the end of the match seemed to be another converted mental lapse.
If you watch the delivery into the box, you’ll see that Sam starts out jogging backwards, then slowly turns as the ball comes in. It almost seemed as if he didn’t know Marou was behind him, or didn’t expect the ball to stay in for a shot. Either way, Marou is by far quicker and in better position to react while Sam seems caught sleeping or ball-watching a bit. Brent Kallman’s man had come toward the front post and was picked up by Marco, but there was no indication that he needed to help cover the back for Sam—in fact, Brent stays waiting for the central ball and never looks back to see Marou’s run. Unfortunately, Charlie was limping slightly and unable to close down Mbuyu enough, so it was a simple pass to exploit Sam and tee up Marou for an easy finish—and that’s considering that when the ball crossed the goal line there were six Union Omaha defenders in the box to only two Charlotte attackers.
Thankfully, the lapse didn’t cost us the full points as it has in other matches this year. But it did put a sour cap on a match that had, for the most part, been brilliantly played and was the best whole-match performance since the Tormenta match (and possibly of the whole season). Those lost points are going to be the determining factor for a playoff appearance, or the team’s first early vacation.
The Good:
First, let me call back to our captain, our keeper, Rashid Nuhu, who returned to form in a major way last night. Shido was decisive, quick to react, and was holding on to shots that had gone for rebounds earlier in the season. He looked like a two-time golden glove winner, and we needed every bit of it to pull out the victory. I don’t know if he’s fully back and will keep up these performances, but it was great to see for a night—especially after calling it out as a concern last week.
Aside from that, the offense looked coherent and flowing for the majority of the game. Inconsistency, and an over-reliance on crosses, has been the offensive identity so far this year, but last night looked a lot more like the Union Omaha teams we’ve come to appreciate. Possession was meaningful, threatening, and sustained for several stretches of the match. Passing went up the left, up the right, and through the center—pretty much anywhere we wanted to go we did. The shots weren’t always on target, but they weren’t so far off that the Charlotte defense could discount any of them. On any front, it seemed only a matter of time before that perfect strike could go in.
And, ironically, it was that threat that allowed us to strike twice off of crosses. Max and Prosper put good shots on target earlier that, though claimed by Levy each time, made sure Charlotte couldn’t just pack the box and cover the crosses. They had to be ready for the cut-back, the dribble, and well-placed shots after being driven up the wings. That threat helped open up space when it was time to cross.
It helped that, unlike other matches, these crosses were targeted and not hopeful. They all had purpose and found the targets they were looking for. It’s hard to miss someone of Ryan’s size in the middle, but for Marco to see Sergio’s run and put it in a place that only he could reach it showed what our crossing attack should be.
Being able to do this with Dion Acoff still absent from the lineup is a good thing. Now we just have to be consistent with this type of attack.
Finally, if you haven’t seen Joe Gallardo’s instagram story of the team bus after the match, you need to go see it (Link here). The whole squad, rallying around the new coach and singing, “Vinnie’s On Fire” is great to see. Not only for the love already bestowed on Vinnie, but also for the party atmosphere it portrayed. The lads seemed to legitimately be enjoying themselves, during the match and after. It was light, and something we haven’t seen much of this year. While I won’t say that it had anything to do with Coach Dom’s departure, it did seem like a release moment of sorts. There’s been a lot of things go wrong this year, so to hear a moment like that gives a lot of optimism that this could be a turning point in the season for the Owls.
Let’s hope they can keep it going.
What’s Next:
On somewhat of a short week, Union Omaha returns home with renewed confidence to face South Georgia Tormenta on Friday, July 18. It’s not only Youth Sports Night at Werner Park, but the Unified Team will see it’s first action at home against Colorado Switchbacks immediately after the match. First team kickoff is at 6 p.m.
Then on Wednesday, July 23, the lads look to exact some revenge on Texoma—albeit in a Jagermeister Cup that has already seen San Antonio FC clinch the group. Despite being practically out of the competition, this match will be a good chance for Vinnie to get even more comfortable on the sidelines in a match with fewer direct consequences than a league match. Kickoff for that one will be 7 p.m.
Key Events:
Charlotte Independence Yellow Card: 28’ – Bachir Ndiaye (Bad Tackle) (5th)
Union Omaha Goal: 32’ – Ryan Becher (2nd) (A: Charlie Ostrem – 5th) 0-1
Charlotte Independence Sub: 46’ – Juan Moreno ON; Tumi Moshobane OFF
Union Omaha Sub: 55’ – Sergio Ors Navarro ON; Prosper Kasim OFF
Charlotte Independence Sub: 62’ – Souaibou Marou ON; Jon Bakero OFF
Union Omaha Sub: 63’ – Laurence Wootton ON; Ryan Becher OFF (Injury)
Union Omaha Goal: 65’ – Sergio Ors Navarro (3rd) (A: Marco Milanese – 1st) 0-2
Charlotte Independence Sub: 68’ Pedro Fonseca ON; Christian Chaney OFF
Union Omaha Subs: 71’ – Brent Kallman ON; Anderson Holt OFF
– Mark Bronnik ON; Chelo Martinez OFF
Charlotte Independence Sub: Tresor Mbuyu ON; Bachir Ndiaye OFF
Charlotte Independence Yellow Card: 81’ – Pele Ousmanou (Bad Foul) (2nd)
Charlotte Independence Yellow Card: 86’ – Javen Romero (Bad Tackle) (5th)
Charlotte Independence Yellow Card: 88’ – Nick Spielman (Shoving) (3rd)
Charlotte Independence Goal: 90’+2’ – Souaibou Marou (6th) (A: Tresor Mbuyu – 1st)
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Who Gives A Hoot? 