Union Omaha had a lot to celebrate at home this week, so they partied the best way one can—by winning two matches and finding themselves sitting in 8th position in the table. 

On the heels of crushing Charlotte Independence 4-1 on Wednesday night, the Owls used an equally professional performance to see off AV Alta FC 2-0 on Saturday. In the middle of all that, Union Omaha welcomed its first Sporting Director in Jamie Henderson, and Dion Acoff became the third Búho to accumulate 100 appearances across all competitions. 

Jamie instantly began to integrate himself with the fans, showing up at Parliament’s pre-match tailgate and socializing with the supporters. Dion received a shadow box with his 100th-cap shirt and the Captain’s armband prior to Saturday’s kickoff. An Owl legend since “shushing” MLS opponents during the 2022 US Open Cup run, he received a well deserved ovation from the 3,704 supporters in attendance.

Festivities are one thing, but Saturday’s match was straight business.

With Coach Candela getting some options back after the midweek rotational squad (that massively impressed), Saturday’s team sheet still had a couple of surprises. Aside from Dion getting the start in place of Laurence Wootton, Cole Jensen found himself in net again after just missing out on a clean sheet against Charlotte. Brent Kallman returned to the back line in place of Anderson Holt with Stefano Pinho moving in up front for Pato Botello Faz. Finally, Ryan Becher’s absence from the lineup was filled by Max Schneider—returning after serving a suspension for yellow card accumulation. (Note: He’s ok and hasn’t been recalled–his absence was excused so he could attend a wedding!)

Brian Kleiban submitted an almost completely different team from the one that came back from 3-0 down to draw Texoma in their midweek match, he only common starter being Captain Miguel Pajaro. Familiar League One faces Alex Cerritos and Jimmie Villalobos looked to key the attack with Denzil Smith trying to keep the Owls out of the net.

The opening portions of the match saw statistically even possession, but the quality of that possession was heavily weighted toward the Owls. Opting to go with four in the back and Max in a defensive midfielder spot worked really well as Omaha was able to move forward through the middle or up the wings to get into dangerous areas. AV Alta, on the other hand, seemed to be unable to maintain any real periods of attacking play and used most of their possession to try to find a way to unlock a resolute midfield. The result of all this was that by the 25-minute mark, Omaha had already recorded 7 shots with AV Alta only getting 1 away. 

None of the Owls’ shots were on target, however, continuing a worrying trend from the first half of the season.

That’s not to say there weren’t opportunities. Some good pressing play in the 12th minute forced a turnover in the attacking third and Mark Bronnik putting a beautiful cross into the six-yard box. Stefano worked around his marker to get a good touch to the ball, but pushed the effort just over the crossbar. The 18th minute saw Charlie Ostrem beating his man to get his head to a corner from Chelo Martinez that also went over. Several others were either blocked, or were great looks, but didn’t have the right strike to put them on net.

And continuing that trend, AV Alta’s shot was mercifully off target after a defensive lapse put them in. Sam Owusu initially did a great job of attempting to marshal an Alta long ball out for a goal kick, but he lost concentration at a critical moment. That allowed Javier Mariona to sneak around the defender and take the ball right off the end line. As Sam was assuming the ball was out, Mariona slipped past him and made an almost completely uncontested run toward Cole’s net. The forward tried to position a curler to the far post from about 10 yards out, but his strike pushed the ball harmlessly out for a goal kick.

The warning shot seemed to wake Omaha up, and the next few minutes saw a flurry of activity that finally opened the scoring thanks to Prosper Kasim. Following a foul on Max by Harrison Robledo, the German stood up immediately and saw Mark starting a run up the left side. Before anyone else knew what was going on, Max delivered a perfect ball that the young striker got on the end of. His cutback low cross nutmegged Erick Gonzalez and was just out of the reach of the falling Christian Ortiz before Prosper ran onto it about 12 yards out. The Alta keeper was equal to the initial shot, but when he was unable to hold on to the ball, Prosper pounced and chipped over the prone Smith for his first goal of the season. It was the kind of goal that had been building in the early going and felt well deserved, if not a little fortunate.

The goal didn’t exactly defang the visitors, and it wasn’t long after that AV Alta found their own series of chances. The 33rd minute saw Mariona become a menace yet again as a long ball put him in past Dion and streaking toward goal. A well timed run and intervention from Brent alleviated the danger, but only temporarily. The ensuing corner went to the back post where Eduardo Blancas rose highest to put Alta’s first shot on target, but Cole’s positioning and hands swallowed up the shot. Then, playing out of the back, Cole’s concentration seemed to slip as Cerritos was able to sneak in on the keeper as the ball was at his feet. The shot was thankfully close enough that it bounced off of Cole’s foot and was cleared away by Max,  avoiding what might have the most embarrassing equalizer of the Omaha season.

As the clock ticked toward halftime, both teams found some chances to strike before the break. Some good pressing play from Omaha led to chances from Brandon Knapp and Chelo, the former forcing a diving stop from Smith and the latter going over the crossbar from the top of the box. Alta’s chances would prove slightly more dangerous and made the home supporters slightly nervous that a first half of good play might again be undone right at the whistle.

Within two minutes of each other, Cole found himself called upon to make sure the scoreline stayed the same. Mariona, again, was able to get a shot off in traffic after receiving the ball on the left side of the box from a recycled corner. The low effort could have been trouble for a keeper fighting the mass of bodies and the setting sun, but Cole was able to track the ball and made what looked like a much easier save than it was. Then Alta used some impressive passing and footwork to feed Mariona, who danced around Dion and Prosper to get a good look at the left side of the goal. Perhaps aided by the forward falling as he struck, Cole’s positioning allowed him to get a hand to the ball and push it aside for a corner that eventually came to nothing.

As relieved as Cole probably was to go into the locker room and get the sun out of his eyes, the fans were also relieved that the team was able to maintain their lead into the half.

The second half started much heavier in possession for the visitors than the first half, but there still wasn’t much to show for it. Alta used quick passing and and positioning to maintain the ball and kept probing an organized Omaha midfield for an opening. The Owls took notice of the final few minutes of the first half and made sure that those openings weren’t available. Every time their opponents moved the ball forward, the defense collapsed together to cut off the advance. There never seemed to be a point where there was too much danger of giving up the equalizer and the team looked comfortable without the ball.

It didn’t mean Omaha was just sitting back and parking the bus. When possession did come the team showed good decisions, passing, and runs that threatened to add to the lead. A series of such passes opened Mark up on the left side early giving him an open chance in on Smith. The effort was deflected just wide for a corner, but was a good display of team patience and movement for an opening.

The ensuing corner was even more interesting as the hosts had some legitimate calls for a penalty. Chelo’s corner looked to be heading toward Sam on the right side of the box, but Maboumou Alassane appeared to hold the defender down then push him over as the ball sailed over head. Surprisingly, referee Rodrigo Albuquerque waved away any appeals from the Owls. Perhaps even more surprisingly, Max didn’t receive a yellow, despite being one of the first gesturing and yelling at the ref for the perceived missed call.

That call provided a bit of an injection into Omaha as almost immediately after the Owls created another chance. More pressing led to Dion winning the ball off of an errant pass and putting an effort on target that required a diving save to keep out. The ensuing corner found Brent’s head well above the other defenders but clanging just off the crossbar and over. 

A couple of minutes later, Mark had another chance to put a stamp on the match as a low cross from the left just missed Stefano’s foot in front of goal for an easy tap in. 

The second half wore on, and, while Alta maintained the lion’s share of possession, the opportunities overwhelmingly favored Omaha. The Owls continued to use their pressure and communication to attempt several shots while almost completely shutting down any momentum the visitors tried to gain. The longer things went, the more comfortable it looked, despite the thoughts of a moment of misfortune that could draw Alta back into it.

The moment of misfortune instead hit in Omaha’s favor. Again, Alta turned the ball over deep in their own half with Charlie getting first to a heavy touch from substitute Osvaldo Lay. The poked pass found Stefano at the top of the box. He worked his way into the area as three Alta defenders converged on him, bowling him over in the process. With one of the Alta defenders on the ground, and Gonzalez more worried about gesturing against a penalty call, Ryen Jiba streaked in to chip the ball over the late-reacting Smith. As the ball headed toward the bottom left corner, Kaloyan Pehilvanov recovered from the Stefano scrum to make a last ditch effort to clear the ball on the line. The Bulgarian defender got his feet all wrong, however, and ended up bundling the ball into the net for an own goal.

With insurance on their side and some organized defense, Omaha was able to see out the remainder of the half in relative security. Despite more possession and passing from Alta, their only credited attempt on target came as more of a technicality in the 89th minute. Christian Ortiz found himself outside the box after settling a pinging ball and put a shot toward the Omaha goal. The effort was deflected high in the air and was an easy claim for Cole, despite it being technically on target.

When the full-time whistle sounded, the stadium erupted in cheers and smoke. Not only had the side produced a performance worthy of the stat lines, but had capped off an amazing week with three more points and a spot above the playoff line. Even better, at the expense of the Greenville Triumph.

What’s Next

Union Omaha gets to stay in town for a couple of weeks and breathe before their next match at home against another playoff-position team in Texoma SC. Their last meeting was a 3-1 victory for the Owls in the Jagermeister Cup, and the team will be looking for a similar result instead of the return league fixture which saw Texoma take a 2-1 victory in Sherman on May 17. This match will be an early one at 2 pm CT on Saturday, September 6th.

Before that, though, the team will be hosting the next in its series of “Team Talks”, this time featuring mid-season acquisitions Pato Botello Faz and Ryan Becher. Join the free event on Tuesday, August 26, at 7 pm CT at St. Andrews Pub in Benson and get to know a couple of the pieces that have helped this team turn around its season!

Post Match Thoughts

• Dion Acoff, on his 100th appearance:

“Honestly, it was a surprise. I didn’t know I hit 100 yet. No, it’s very…I appreciate it. It’s very honorable. I know I love this city, I love this club. You know, it’s just another milestone in my career, so, I’m happy. Happy about it.”

• Vinnie Candela, on what Dion means to this team:

“He means everything to this team, not only on the field but off the field as well. He’s a great person, and that’s the kind of players that we always look to bring in. So, I told him congratulations, not only for what he’s done this year, but in the past and in his career. It’s a blessing for me to be able to work with someone like that, so professional. And I think everyone respects Dion, and everyone looks up to Dion. He might not be the most vocal, but he’s a leader. And he’s a leader by example and he’s a leader by being such a great professional. So it’s a privilege to work with him.”

• Cole Jensen, on his clean sheet and the team’s recent performance:

“I think, throughout the season, you just try to get better week to week and game to game, and things are starting to click for us, and guys are performing. And that’s working into a collective unit, and good team performances. And we’re starting to score some goals and get some points. So, I think everybody is pretty happy with it.”

• Dion, on the team’s run of form:

“Yeah, it’s looking real. It’s like a little snowball effect. Once we start getting a couple of wins, it’s just going to keep rolling and rolling and rolling. It’s going to keep going, so. Just one game at a time, and, you know, hopefully it can lead us into the playoffs.”

• Vinnie, on the form and team improvement:

“Well, It’s been almost 5 1/2, 6 weeks since the change. And, like I said, it wasn’t really about changing our identity. It was about enhancing some things with the roster we had. 

It’s not the changes in—that cohesion isn’t going to happen over night. And now you’re starting to see good football, and we’re getting results as well. So, it’s wonderful to see that work out. We talk about building. First clean sheet of the year—that is the most important part. If you can keep that 0, you’re always going to be in the game. So it’s wonderful that we’re scoring multiple goals. We’re getting clean sheets. Almost got a clean sheet on Wednesday. So it’s wonderful to see the entire group work together toward that common goal that we have.”

• Jamie Henderson, on the team and his first few days at the club:

“It’s been a crazy week…But I’ve been really impressed with all the guys here. All the back room stuff, everyone at the club has been so welcoming. And obviously it’s been topped off by two very good performances — Wednesday and tonight—two really professional performances. This team’s had it in them all season. I got the opportunity to speak with the boys, and I let them know that the points don’t reflect the performances. And this week, the points do reflect the performances, and it’s been a really positive end to the week. Take a little bit of a break now and we’ll get back into it with another game in a couple weeks’ time.”

• Cole, on his second start in a row:

“I think I’m always ready. You know, whatever happens, happens. I think it’s my job to be ready, so whenever he calls my name, then it’s my time to do my job. And so that’s my approach to every game, and we’ll see what happens moving forward.”

The Not-as-Good 

Of course, there’s always got to be something on which the team can improve, but “Bad” definitely seems like a misnomer. So for the Not-as-Good, I’ll turn to something that has plagued the team all season, albeit to much worse effect earlier: mental mistakes.

Call it losing concentration, lapsing, or occasionally complacency, there were a couple of moments in the match that showed the mental bug hasn’t completely left the team yet. The two most blatant happened in the first half—that of Sam’s end line gaffe and Cole’s casual distribution from goal.

With Sam, you could see his body language and head assumed the ball would just go over the line for a goal kick. He looked away from the ball, not thinking that Mariona would have a chance to get around him, much less nick the ball off of him. That effort is a massive credit to the Alta striker, who made himself annoying all night, and was probably a couple of inches from being man of the match.

But what troubles me about this play in particular was the timing. This was an early chance for Alta. The score was still tied, and giving up a goal there changes the entire match. There’s no good time to lose focus like that, but doing so at that point would normally be troubling. In the “better to be lucky than good” column, Sam is the luckiest of ducks. Thankfully, he pulled his head up, regained his focus, and didn’t let that be an issue for the remainder of the match.

For Cole’s, I’m not really sure what happened there. The broadcast commentator mentioned the sun being a factor in Cerritos being able to sneak up on the keeper, but it appeared that Cole looked at him while settling the ball. I feel like it’s more likely that he underestimated Cerritos’ quickness in closing him down while looking for someone up the pitch. Whatever happened, it could have spelled disaster.

It’s happened a few times this year that Omaha has scored, only to concede shortly afterward. So to lose focus shortly after getting the opening goal would also normally be troubling. Much the same as Sam, Cole was able to shake it off and put in a very good performance in goal. The fact remains that we got lucky on those two occasions, where previously we would have been punished. Still, it’s best we clean that up without relying on the fickle charms of Lady Luck.

The Good

Literally everything else, but I’m going to focus on a two big things – improved cohesion and meaningful possession.

– Vinnie, Dion, and Cole all talked about the cohesion and the improved communication with the team over the last few games, and you can definitely feel it. During the Charlotte match, they felt like they were all on the same page and having fun. I commented to several people that if you watched that match, but knew nothing about this league, you’d assume that was our standard starting XI and not a significantly rotated squad. Last night was the same—and I’ll give you two examples.

First was a mind-blowing dummy on an attack in the 36th minute on a play between Mark, Stefano, and Prosper. Mark found himself the beneficiary of a deflected pass from Alta in the defensive third, and immediately turned to find a ton of space ahead on the right side. With everyone racing back, Mark played a ball to Stefano in the middle of the pitch. 

At this point, Stefano is looking squarely at Mark and running toward him to meet the ball. Yet instead of taking the ball himself, he lets the pass run through as he drags two defenders back toward where he should have intersected with the ball. That purposeful move allowed the ball to go all the way to the right side where Prosper was outpacing any marker he might have had to get in to the attacking third. 

Now while I won’t say that Stefano may not have taken a split-second side glance to read Prosper’s run, it’s indicative of the fact that he knew what to expect out of his teammate on the right. If he’d let that ball run through with no idea of Prosper’s positioning and run he risks an immediate turnover and counter chance for Alta on Omaha’s weak side. The only way he doesn’t take that ball on is if he understands what his teammate is doing. And he only does that if the team is starting to get a lot more cohesion.

While that one didn’t lead directly to a shot, the second example did. Max’s quick free kick excited me to no end (even if it did remind me of a certain Scouser that is no longer in my beloved Liverpool side!) Watching it back, made me love it even more.

When Max gets bowled over and the whistle blows, almost everyone is standing around waiting for him to reset the ball, find the right pass, and make the kick. Everyone thinks they’ve got a second to regroup and let things go. Two things gave Omaha the advantage on this play—the fact that the ball stood perfectly still on the pitch at the spot of the foul, and a brief glance between Max and Mark.

As soon as the German got up, Mark looked at him and placed a silently shared thought in his head. Mark started the run at the exact moment that Max flicked the ball forward. That quick thinking and trust between the teammates is what put Alta scrambling on their heels and led to Prosper’s chances. (In fact, Prosper did a great job of reacting to what was going on and following the play himself). 

I honestly saw that play and expect Alta to have a great case about the free kick being taken too quickly. Yet watching the replay of it, there was no complaint to be had. It wasn’t unfair. It wasn’t cheap. It was a trio of teammates who, in one play, showed how far this team has come in being able to play to each other’s styles and strengths. If anything is going to keep us in the playoff places, it’s that.

– If you’ve read any of my other recaps, you’ll know that I’ve talked a lot about an idea posed by former Tormenta coach Ian Cameron – that losing possession in this league is how you win games. In general, the idea has been that it’s because teams will give away possession, stay compact in defense, and then break forward on the counter where chances are less contested. That seems to have been the way with us all year—we’ve dominated stats and possession, yet there’s 10 losses to our name in the season so far. 

So it shouldn’t be surprising that in our last two matches—our best two match scoring stretch in almost a year*—we’ve been on the losing end of the possession stat. That’s how the game is sometimes.

But what is surprising to the people actually watching the game is that Omaha doesn’t seem to be playing for the counter. They aren’t playing 10 men behind the ball and looking for the chance to spring Stefano or Mark in behind the defense. Instead, they’re being efficient in their passing and possession forward while forcing opponents to hold the ball up looking for a way through. 

The way you know this is happening is that it doesn’t seem like your team is losing the possession battle. I noticed this in the first 15 minutes of the match. It seemed like every time I looked up, Omaha had the ball again. Yet according to FotMob, those first 15 minutes were actually 50-50 in terms of possession. Even Vinnie, as I was discussing this idea with him post match, said that we “controlled the first 35-40 minutes of possession, and pinned them back”. If you ask FotMob, Alta held a 53-47 possession advantage at the 40-minute mark.

That’s not to say Vinnie is wrong, but that the possession stat discussion is one that has a lot more nuance to it—and playing to that nuance is what’s working out for this Omaha team now. To go more into Vinnie’s thoughts about meaningful possession:

“So again it’s just—possession is just a number. It’s about what you do with it. So what I care about is are we—our final third entries, the quality crosses and quality shots are we getting, and touches in the box—in the opposition box. So those are the numbers that I really care about, and I have to review them, but I think we probably outnumbered them in all of those categories.”

Spoiler alert: We did outnumber them – 79 completed passes into the final third (72%) against 58 (63%) for AV Alta. 8 accurate crosses (33%) against 2 (18%) for Alta. 27 touches in the opposition box to 19 for Alta. As a bonus stat, of the 443 accurate passes AV Alta had, 303 of them were in their own half. Omaha had 268 accurate passes all night, but only 117 were in their own half. If that’s not a hallmark of meaningful possession, I don’t know what is.

And the fact that this team has figured out that 65% possession means nothing if you can’t do something with it is a good sign going forward. The fact that they’ve figured out that losing the possession stat doesn’t mean waiting for something to happen is an even better sign. 

The rest of the league had better take notice.

*(Fun fact: The six goals scored were the most Omaha has scored in a 2-match period since August 2024. Those included a 3-0 win vs. Richmond on 8/23/24 and a 3-3 PK loss to Madison in the Jagermeister Cup semifinals on 8/29/24.)

– Oh, and as a final “Good”, Brent Kallman had a very solid match last night. He made several perfect interventions, played with heart and good communication, and was every bit the veteran presence we’ve needed him to be all year. He even rose up like a dolphin and was very close to netting a goal! I know some people who are going to hate to admit it, but it was one of his best showings of the season.

Key Events:

Union Omaha Goal: 27’ – Prosper Kasim (1st) (Unassisted) 1-0

AV Alta FC Yellow Card: 52’ – Miguel Pajaro (Dissent) (9th)

AV Alta FC Subs: 60’ – Emmanuel Alaribe ON; Jimmie Villalobos OFF
– Jerry Desdunes ON; Alexis Cerritos OFF
          – Walmer Martinez ON; Javier Mariona OFF

AV Alta FC Subs: 67’ – Osvaldo Lay ON; Maboumou Alassane OFF
– Kaloyan Pehilvanov ON; Miguel Pajaro OFF

Union Omaha Subs: 70’ – Pato Botello Faz ON; Chelo Martinez OFF
    – Laurence Wootton ON; Dion Acoff OFF

Union Omaha Subs: 77’ – Marco Milanese ON; Prosper Kasim OFF
– Ryen Jiba ON; Mark Bronnik OFF

Union Omaha Goal: 78’ – Kaloyan Pehilvanov (Own Goal**) 2-0

AV Alta FC Yellow Card: 82’ – Eduardo Blancas (Bad Foul) (8th)

Union Omaha Sub: 86’ – Sergio Ors Navarro ON; Stefano Pinho OFF

** Author’s note: I don’t care what the official league stats say. Ryen Jiba’s efforts made that goal. In my heart, that’ s his first of the year. Complaints can be sent anywhere but here.

For the second time this week, Stefano Pinho came through in front of the home crowd.

His goal in second half stoppage time saved a point in a match that looked to have Chattanooga’s signature style written all over it. The visitors used a quick counter-attack and some defensive miscues to not only cancel Mark Bronnik’s opener, but pull ahead with only five minutes to go in regulation. The late equalizer not only sent the home crowd into a frenzy, but also ensured the Red Wolves slipped from their spot atop the USL League One table.

Coach Vincenzo Candela only made two changes to the lineup that faced Westchester in midweek, but those tweaks were significant. Apparently preparing for a traditionally physical Red Wolves side, Brent Kallman got the start in the center of the back line in place of Anderson Holt. Pato Botello Faz found himself up front with Stefano set up to be a super sub off the bench.

On the other side, Scott Mackenzie made four changes from Wednesday’s victory over Forward Madison. Keeper Jason Smith started in place of Ricardo Jerez, while Aaron Lombardi and Owen Green set up in the back line over Joshua Ramos and Omar Gomez. Rounding out the changes, Greyson Mercer started central in attack over Pedro Hernandez, who had scored and assisted in the last match.

The opening minutes of the match seemed somewhat sloppy from both sides as they fought each other and some oppressive humidity on the field. As typical, Omaha dominated most of the possession, but this tended just to play into Chattanooga’s strengths as the visitors sat back and waited for a chance to counter.

That chance showed itself in the second minute. Following a keeper claim, center back Eric Kinzner attempted a long pass from just outside his own box. The ball found Mercer, who flicked along with his head and past the defense to a speedy Matthew Bentley up the left side. Bentley had little trouble getting in toward Rashid Nuhu, but the Englishman’s strike had little power on it at was an easy scoop for the Owls’ keeper. Even though it didn’t trouble Shido, it was a warning shot of how quickly the Red Wolves could go from defending to attacking. 

Over the next 10 minutes, Omaha found still more of the possession, but many promising attacks fell by the wayside due to turnovers or bad touches. One such occasion saw a good penetration into the Chattanooga box that ended up being cut out due to Pato taking a heavy touch with his chest off a pass from Mark. The visitors quickly moved out and only a timely intervention by Sam Owusu on the other end kept the Red Wolves from facing Shido alone again. 

The ensuing throw in found Wynand Wessels who put a deep cross into the middle of the Owls’ penalty area. After a quick one-two header combo between Mercer and Bentley, the ball fell kindly to Declan Watters at the back post to slot past Shido. It highlighted some poor aerial defending in the box, and the hosts were relieved to see the linesman’s flag go up to nullify Chattanooga’s opener.

Eventually Omaha would find their footing and start making some threatening attacks with Mark leading the way. In the 26th minute, having pushed the ball up on the left side, the young striker found himself dancing through three Red Wolf challengers and managing to keep his feet into the Chattanooga area. Drawing the defense, Mark laid the ball off to a wide open Max Schneider who put his laces through a shot from just outside the box. The crowd cheered initially as the net rippled, only to realize that Max’s shot had been just wide of the post. Having endured a couple of warning shots already, the Owls would feel glad to have given one of their own.

It didn’t take long for that warning to bear fruit either. Two minutes later Brandon Knapp floated a cross into the area looking for Pato, but the Red Wolves defense managed to head the ball away. The clearance wasn’t quite good enough as Max moved up and put the ball right back in toward Pato. Pato took a great touch, knocking the ball down and setting up Mark to let loose a rocket that Smith had no time to react to, much less get a glove to. The cheers and smoke stood this time as the young striker put the Owls up early.

But despite the early goal, and the continued dominance in possession, Chattanooga showed their warnings were also not to go unheeded. Off a turnover in attack, the Red Wolves broke quickly up the left side. Despite Ryan Becher’s foul from behind on Ualefi Reis, the midfielder managed to push the ball up the right side to Omar Hernandez. With the defense concentrating on him and Bentley’s run up the middle, Sam was left indecisive to allow Jordan Ayimbila nothing but green space on the left side. Hernandez’s pass found the defender in stride and his strike went through Sam’s outstretched legs and into the net to Shido’s left. It was a typical goal for Chattanooga this season, and drained some of the excitement that Mark’s opener had brought to the crowd.

The remainder of the half went pretty much the same way. Omaha made a lot of good looking attacks, but either a final pass or touch just wouldn’t allow them to get anything good on target against Smith. The Red Wolves’ defense stayed mostly back, happy to cede possession and bide their time for another opportunity to pounce. Add to that the physicality and emotions starting to ramp up, and the match started to feel like one of the traditional heavyweight fights that has marked the head-to-head series between these teams.

The second half played out similarly as the two sides stuck to their strengths. Several quick runs and crosses—one in particular by Charlie Ostrem that curled just wide after some good footwork—made it seem like a second goal was coming in just a matter of minutes.

The visitors weren’t without their own chances, though. The 64th minute saw what might have been their best look of the second half. After Omaha failed to clear the ball during a ping-pong moment at the top of the box, Chattanooga found substitute Yanis Lelin on the right side of the pitch. The defender drove a perfectly weighted shot toward the back post where both Mercer and Bentley were waiting to put in a go-ahead goal. Sam’s reactions were better this time, and the defender intervened just as the ball was arriving. The ensuing corner kick came to nothing, but another warning shot found its way across our goal.

As the minutes ticked on it felt like Omaha would find a breakthrough eventually, and it seemed like it would happen with 10 minutes left in regulation. Looking for a way to press up, Dion Acoff took some space on the right side vacated as a Red Wolf went down on a non-contact play. The ref allowed the attack to continue, and Dion found Laurence Wootton on further up the right side. With Chattanooga functionally down to 10 men, Laurence was able to lay the ball off to Max in a ton of space. The German midfielder struck fiercely and beat Smith, but couldn’t beat the crossbar. The second near miss excited the crowd, which made the next big play in the match all the more heartbreaking.

As the Owls have done all year, they let their opponents in to score when momentum and attack were completely on Omaha’s side. Orange County loanee Ben Barjolo found himself in trouble on the left side around midfield as two Red Wolves looked to close him down. His outlet pass was back toward Brent, who had some trouble getting under it and was only able to head it in the general direction of Chelo Martinez. With Chelo unable to get to it, the ball fell to Wessels in the Chattanooga attacking third. Great vision and a greater pass allowed him to pick out Lelin’s streaking run into the left side of the box. The defender put off a shot to rival Max’s, only this time the crossbar rebounded the ball in past Shido to give the visitors a very late lead.

The final minutes ticked down, and despite their best efforts, it seemed like this would be another heartbreaking loss and three points thrown away. That’s when Omaha pulled a Chattanooga-style counter to beat them at their own game.

A Red Wolf throw in deep in their attacking half went directly to Ben who headed away to Max to start the attack. A one-two with Prosper Kassim allowed Max the space and time to find Dion speeding up the right side. Beating two defenders to get toward the corner, Dion made a pinpoint cross that looked to be bound for Pato. However, Pato drew his defender off with a dummy, let the ball go in behind him to Stefano who blew the roof off of Werner by scoring his second straight 90+ goal. 

When the full time whistle sounded, the entire stadium could finally breathe. It wasn’t a win, but to take a point against a team at the top of the table in that fashion may have felt like a win. If nothing else, it had to have felt like a loss for the Red Wolves. And honestly, I’ll take it.

The Good:

• I’ll start with the obvious, and that’s Stefano Pinho. The Brazilian has saved three points for us this week with late heroics and has inspired the team to continue fighting. He’s as dynamic a presence as we’ve had up front in a while, and pairs perfectly with Pato up top. Asking him how he felt after seeing that goal go in, he had this to say:
  

“I’m trying to do my best when I step on the field, so I’m very happy to have scored this goal today. And, we should do better, to get three points, but we have a full week next week to look better, to try to get three points against Knoxville.”

It sounds like a bit of a canned answer, but it’s very accurate as to what’s going on with him. He’s leading the way this week with his heroics, and helping to overcome some of the issues we’ve had giving away goals. He knows there’s room to improve and that’s the focus. He’s exactly the kind of veteran presence this team has needed all year.

But aside from Stefano, I also have to call out Mark Bronnik. He struggled a couple of times in the Westchester match, and began to look like the starting spot might be too much for him. On Saturday he settled down some, and his goal was one of the best we’ve had this season. He’s got a lot of talent and energy, and he has to be ready to step up and show that he’s ready for the starting minutes a lot of the fans have asked for. At least last night, he did that. Here’s hoping he can continue to build on that.

• Stefano isn’t the only one fighting to the end. I asked Coach Vinnie about the high points we could take from this match, and he responded with this: 

“You know, I think the high points—we talk about wanting to build toward something. Maybe we didn’t have that fight a couple weeks ago. You talk about on Wednesday winning a game in the 90+ minute, and now tying a game in the 90+ minute against a team that’s at the top of the table, that’s where we want to be. So I see a fight from the guys. We still need to get better at some things because we’re still gifting goals away. But high points are that we’re fighting now until the end. I didn’t see that before. We’re scoring multiple goals in a game now, as well, so we’ve got to take those positives and build from them.”

The team has seemed to turn a bit of a corner and gotten some belief in them over the past few weeks. I’m not going to speculate on the end of Dom’s tenure, but Vinnie and company have definitely shown more optimistic and inspired play. This has led not only to some late magic, but also to some more scoring. As he mentioned, the ball is actually going in the back of the net more for us now than earlier this season. We have 8 goals in our last 5 USL League One matches, 11 in our last 7 overall. That’s a pretty good uptick considering where we began the season. I won’t call us prolific just yet, but there’s a lot more coming out of this attack than there was.

• Mayor Ewing’s visit and Hispanic Heritage Night were a couple of big hits on a night where the entertainment value of the match was high already. 

To start with, the mayor’s presence at the match and the presentation on the field should provide some positivity among the fanbase who were questioning what kind of working relationship the team would have with the new city administration, after laying a lot of groundwork with the previous mayor on things like a new stadium. That Mayor Ewing and his wife took the time out to be at the match, walk around, talk to the people, and in the heat/humidity that seemed like an indoor swimming pool at times, speaks to the fact that they are willing to engage and see the value of having a robust sports scene in the metro area. I’m not sure that the mayor is a huge follower of soccer, but the atmosphere showed that this team can really be something for this community with the right investment—something that isn’t lost on a  man like him.

But even better than that was the crowd around Hispanic Heritage Night. Speaking about it after the match, Vinnie shared his thoughts:

“It was wonderful because, you know, it felt like a proper Union Omaha home game. I heard the music before the game. I heard it during, and this is kinda what I love about the Union Omaha community. Especially, being of Hispanic heritage and being born in Colombia, you feel that love and that passion, and I wish we could continue it every weekend because it’s so unique. It’s probably the best crowd we’ve had all season. So I was super grateful that we have this support in the community, and we have to keep it going. We can do our part on the field by entertaining them, so hopefully they can continue to support us.”

Stefano also gave his love to the fans:

“The fans here is [sic] amazing. When I was in Brazil, I was talking to Prosper about the atmosphere here, the environment. So today was, a great crowd. So we’re happy to have fans like that—to help us to go fighting until the end. So it’s amazing to be here with these fans.”

Between the two events, I think the club and fans got this one pretty well.

The Bad:

We all know what the bad is: we can’t stop the other team from scoring. It’s not that Chattanooga isn’t good, but they are a known quantity. The team is averaging 34.2% possession per game. They are going to try to be quick and lethal on the counter. The more you turn the ball over, the quicker and more lethal that counter is. And that’s what we did twice tonight to set up their goals. 

A lot of folks want to get on Brent Kallman for the header that started the second goal for Chattanooga, but it wasn’t just him. Ben starts the error by putting him in a bad position with a desperate outlet. Brent heads sort of in the vicinity of Chelo, but can’t make it accurate enough. The left side defense loses track of Lelin and lets him have an open shot. Even Shido didn’t look quite right trying to react (although after reviewing the goal, that was a rocket that would’ve been hard to get a hand to). All of these small mistakes turn into disaster—and it happens over and over again.

Asking Stefano what we need to improve before Knoxville, he told me this:

“I think, improve our decisions in the final third. The last pass, the last action. It’s like, do some little things, you know. We are doing good. We have a great team, great players, so just, focus a little bit on the last pass, they’re going to be fine.”

Vinnie went a step further with his answer:

“We gotta stop the mistakes. I feel like we’re scoring goals for both teams. So I think that’s our focus right now—making sure we do a better job of being focused for 90 minutes. Because, I still feel like we’re beating ourselves a lot of the time. A lot of teams aren’t really breaking us down, we’re breaking ourselves down. And so I think that’s one thing we really need to hone in this week, because Knoxville has talent. They’re a good squad. And it’s going to be another tough battle away from home.”

It may be a bit easier said than done, because we’ve been saying the same things all season. There’s some optimism around, but until we truly see those mistakes corrected, we’re going to be a good team that misses the playoffs. At least we know the coach and players see it, too.

What’s Next:

Next match we travel to Knoxville for our first meeting of the year. One Knoxville is sitting 4th in the table after a 2-2 draw in Madison last night. They have a midweek match against Richmond that is a makeup of one postponed earlier this year, while the Owls have the full week to rest and prepare for the trip. The match is at 6 pm Central on Saturday, 16 August.

Following that we return home to face Charlotte Independence at 7pm Central on Wednesday, August 20th. Charlotte sits 5th in the table after dropping a 9-goal thriller to Greenville last night, and will face Westchester SC before meeting Omaha. They’ll be looking for revenge against Vinnie, who defeated them in his inaugural match as the Boss Búho. Additionally, assuming Shido plays in both matches, this will be the 150th appearance of our captain across all competitions.

Key Events:

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 18’ – Marco Milanese (Bad Challenge – 4th)

Union Omaha Goal: 28’ – Mark Bronnik (2nd) (A: Pato Botello Faz – 1st) 1-0

Chattanooga Red Wolves Goal: 35’ – Jordan Ayimbila (2nd) (A: Omar Hernandez – 3rd) 1-1

Chattanooga Red Wolves Yellow Card: 38’ – Jordan Ayimbila (Bad Foul – 4th)

Chattanooga Red Wolves Yellow Card: 45’+4’ – Declan Watters (Bad Challenge – 4th)

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 53’ – Pato Botello Faz (Bad Foul – 2nd)

Union Omaha Subs: 56’ – Benjamin Barjolo ON; Mark Bronnik OFF
– Dion Acoff ON; Marco Milanese OFF

Chattanooga Red Wolves Subs: 62’ – Yanis Lelin ON; Aaron Lombardi OFF
– Omar Gomez ON; Owen Green OFF
– Zahir Vazquez ON; Omar Hernandez OFF (Injury)

Union Omaha Sub: 67’-  Stefano Pinho ON; Ryan Becher OFF

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 71’ – Max Schneider (Dissent – 8th)

Chattanooga Red Wolves Sub: 74’ – Pedro Hernandez ON; Greyson Mercer OFF

Chattanooga Red Wolves Sub: 82’ – Joshua Ramos ON; Jordan Ayimbila OFF

Union Omaha Subs: 83’ – Chelo Martinez ON; Brandon Knapp OFF
– Prosper Kassim ON; Laurence Wootton OFF

Chattanooga Red Wolves Goal: 85’ – Yanis Lelin (2nd) (A: Wynand Wessels – 2nd) 1-2

Chattanooga Red Wolves Yellow Card: 90’+4’ – Wynand Wessels (Bad Foul – 3rd)

Union Omaha Goal: 90’+6’ – Stefano Pinho (2nd) (A: Dion Acoff – 1st) 2-2

*This article has been edited to correct the spelling of Coach Vincenzo Candela’s name, further proving that autocorrect is the stupidest ducking thing ever invented.

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)
1-2

Union Omaha’s first trip to Antelope Valley ends in defeat by a score of 2-1 at the hands of a former Owl. Luca Mastrantonio’s 50th-minute goal proved the decider in a match that saw a couple of defensive errors prove the difference. Ryan Becher scored his first for Union Omaha early, but a great strike from Walmer Martinez cancelled that out for AV just before halftime. The Owls still had a few decent chances to walk away with a point, but all of them were left wanting to give the hosts the victory.

Coach Casciato made three changes to the lineup that lost to Richmond in their last league outing. Ryan Becher made his first start in place of Sergio Ors Navarro up front while Sam Owusu replaced Brent Kallman on the back line. A bit of a shuffle in formation gave Joe Gallardo the start with Anderson Holt giving way to make room.

Meanwhile, Coach Brian Kleiban also made three changes to the group that won in Portland only three days prior. Another former Owl, Adam Aoumaich, got his first start of the season in place of Javier Mariona. Emmanuel Alaribe took Eduardo Blancas’ place at the top of the formation, and Walmer Martinez replaced goal-scoring talisman Jerry Desdunes to round out the side.

As the match opened, any thoughts that AV Alta would have jet lag from their cross country return were quickly put to rest. The hosts looked quick, crisp, and were able to make some early chances, earning two corners in the first 7 minutes on some aggressive play up front and forcing an early save from Rashid Nuhu. The Omaha defense did well to collapse each time and help keep the shots out of net, but the early danger seemed like it could quickly overwhelm the visitors.

After the onslaught of the first 10 minutes, the Owls finally found some of their footing in the match and had a good chance at an early goal of their own. Max Schneider got two good looks with his head at Carlos Avilez’s goal from a free kick opportunity. A good delivery into the box bypassed a couple of defenders and found Max’s head. The German midfielder headed the ball across the box, but found a defender’s head instead of net. A great bounce gave Max a second chance, but the Avilez was well positioned to cut off the shot. Though the ball didn’t end up in the net, it showed that Omaha could provide enough threat to keep AV on their toes.

The hosts would continue to dominate possession and produced some good chances of their own. Their passing was quick and incisive, opening up opportunities from outside the box that Shido was able to deal with, but did not look comfortable in doing so. It seemed fortunate that AV Alta had yet to open the scoring when Omaha struck with one of their own.

A good series of pressing led to a series of two quick turnovers in the AV defensive half—one of them a great headed interception by Joe to set up a quick counter that was blocked out for a corner. Chelo Martinez put the ball in to the far post where Max got his head to the ball and forced an acrobatic save from Avilez. The save didn’t clear the lines, however, and Ryan out jumped everyone, including Marco Milanese, to head home for his first as a Búho and a first-half lead.

Though the goal meant that Omaha were still capable of producing an attack, the remainder of the half went AV’s way in terms of possession and threat. Sebastian Cruz had several chances to show his speed from the back, making darting dribbles and opening space against a midfield that looked almost standing still at times in comparison. When not opening the field up with their pace, AV Alta’s passing found ways around the press and put the defense on their heels. More often than not, the hosts shots were just barely blocked by a shifting line, or just off target.

That ended in first half stoppage time as AV’s Martinez finally found his accuracy to beat Shido. Taking the ball from the right wing, Martinez dribbled around three Owl defenders at the top of the box. Having skipped away from Max, and with no one stepping up in time, Martinez placed a low shot from just outside the left side of the arc into the far right corner. Shido was unable to react in time to get a hand on it, and even though Omaha had weathered most of the AV attack, the match went to the half all square.

The halftime scoreline was disappointing, but not completely undeserved. AV Alta had managed 70% possession in the first half, let off 11 shots, and had a 91% passing accuracy while amassing 313 accurate passes. When looking at those numbers, the visitors might have considered themselves lucky to still be level. But once again getting scored on late in a half would change the mood going into the locker room considerably.

That mood soured even further shortly after the break, when AV Alta would take the lead for good.

A good physical run by Harrison Robledo resulted in a well-blocked shot put out for a corner. Goal-scorer Martinez’s corner kick went clearly to the back post against a shifting defensive mass of bodies. Mastrantonio managed to slip away from the crowd while Miguel Pajaro’s movement managed to shield Ryan from being able to close down the unmarked man. A well-directed header to the far post from the former Owl easily beat the scrambling defenders and Shido to put the home side ahead.

As the early portion of the half continued, it very well looked like AV Alta would add another goal to the tally. Less than a minute after Mastrantonio’s goal, Marco lost his footing while playing out of the defensive half and put Jimmie Villalobos in with a 2-on-1 chance against Sam and Shido. With Alaribe open for an easy tap in in the center, Villalobos instead decided to take his own shot from a tight angle, pushing the ball wide to the relief of Marco and the rest of the Owl defense.

The pressure from AV’s attack continued and forced a lot of scrambling in the back, which Omaha was able to just about manage without conceding another goal. That changed around the 60th minute, when AV started to let off possession and allow Omaha to come to them and trusting their discipline and defense to maintain the lead.

As Omaha started growing more into the half, the press started to become an issue again for the hosts. Winning the ball back in the attacking half led to Omaha’s next good chance after a turnover and hard foul on Marco gave Max an opportunity at a free kick from about 30-yards out. His driven shot looked to be heading straight at the top right corner, but Avilez sacrificed his body to make an acrobatic save to keep out a moment of magic that would’ve changed the story on this match.

But with all of the pressure and possession ceded to the visitors in the second half, any chances that might have been created fell off to either the lack of a final pass or wildly taken shots that seemed to be trying to force magic more than create it. A couple of half-volleys found their way off target, while some shots were passed up looking for something more sure that never manifested. It seemed that the hosts would be able to sit back and walk away with all three points.

The most heartbreaking was the final big opportunity for an Owl equalizer. A pressing turnover in the defensive half led to a good dribble by Sergio that drew the AV Alta defense to swarm him and force a drop off pass to Prosper Kasim. With Brandon Knapp free on the right, Prosper found the streaking midfielder with a great leading ball and tons of space to work with. Pushing forward, Brandon looked capable of threatening Avilez’s goal, but instead found Sergio in the center. A perfect low cross found Sergio’s feet with nothing but an open net in front of him, but the Spaniard’s accuracy let him down from 6 yards out as he pushed the best chance of the night wide left.

That play would end any chances Union Omaha had of getting a result out of this match, while also summarizing the night perfectly. The Owls had their chances, but fortune was not on their side as the hosts took advantage of some missteps and responded with quality of their own. It wasn’t a bad outing, but frustrating, as the team again didn’t live up to their potential.

The Good:

Ryan Becher continues to impress in his loan stint with the club. He’s already become a key piece to the attack and his height has given the club a target in the center on crosses and free kicks. He seems to be integrating well into the system, and is already developing chemistry with his fellow attackers. I can only imagine what might have been if he’d had a full preseason and early season to get into even more of a flow with his new teammates.

Brandon Knapp didn’t have a terrible game—and yes, that counts as good. The midfielder-turned-defender has been called into action to help a depleted and underperforming back line, and hasn’t had the easiest time of it. And while he didn’t stand out greatly (apart from his 89th-minute cross that SHOULD have been an assist), he also didn’t stand out poorly. While Brandon can not be a long-term solution at defender, he’s the best we’ve got with the injuries and poor form that’s plagued our defense. Last night, he did what he had to do—and that’s going to have to be good enough.

I don’t see the team giving up, and that’s huge. They aren’t getting results, but they also aren’t just rolling over either. The comeback against Richmond, keeping San Antonio close (and maybe even deserving a draw given the first half performance), and continuing to press a talented AV Alta FC shows that they aren’t saying die. I will always support a team that is fighting, even if the results aren’t going their way. If this team starts to lose that fight, we’re going to have bigger issues than not making the playoffs.

The Bad:

There’s a lot of bad this year, but we’ve focused on that several times this year, both in and out of the writing. The defensive lapses are costing us, and the offense is inconsistent—even when Dion Acoff has been available. Time is running out for it to “click” for us, and the prospect of the playoffs, much less hosting a game, gets farther away with each dropped point.

But I want to talk a little bit about our Captain and great guy Rashid Nuhu. I won’t say his performances are so much bad in the grand scheme of this league, but they aren’t the standard that he’s kept the last few years. The defense isn’t putting him in great situations, true, but there have been some troubling things I’ve noticed the last few matches that concern me.

I put a note in around the 21st minute of this match that Shido didn’t look comfortable on some of his saves. Two specific instances that come to mind are a shot he saved in the 3rd minute and again in the 21st.

The 3rd minute chance looked fairly simple. Adam Aoumaich put in a solid shot on target but from a tight angle, which normally doesn’t bother Shido. Something caused him to make the save, but pop the ball straight up in the air, causing him to scramble and punch the ball out of danger.

The 21st minute chance saw Sebastian Cruz take his own shot from outside the box. He didn’t get as much power on it and the bouncing ball still seemed to give Shido trouble. He managed to save it and push it out for a corner, but looked crossed up on a ball that he’d normally be able to just claim.

This isn’t the only match he’s done that. Jake LaCava’s goal for San Antonio came from a good shot outside the box that looked as if he would normally handle, but the spill allowed LaCava to pounce on the rebound and put away what would be the winning goal.

You can also point to the miscommunication with Kallman on the third Richmond goal or his inability to react well to some shots from outside the box as signs that he’s not having a great year. I’m not sure what’s off, but it’s something.

He’s still the first choice keeper, a club legend, and our Captain. He’s still a bona fide starter for most teams in this league and I’m glad he’s stayed with us as long as he has. But something’s not going right for Shido this year, and it goes beyond having a defense that puts him under more pressure than he’s used to. 

I really want him to get back to his golden glove form, but I also don’t know what it’s going to take to get there. Either way, I’ll still support him and know he’s capable. But I won’t lie and say it doesn’t concern me.

What’s Next:

Union Omaha now travels to Charlotte Independence as the road-heavy schedule continues. Kickoff for that match is at 6 pm CT on Saturday, July 12. Omaha Parliament’s watch party at Rathskeller will continue that evening after team representatives and supporters march in the Heartland Pride Parade earlier that day. In addition to a much-needed three points against a playoff-position team, it would also be a boon to beat Charlotte following a Pride march where team and supporter solidarity should be on full display.

Following that, the Owls return home on Friday, July 18 to face South Georgia Tormenta at Werner Park. Not only is this a team that traditionally helps Union Omaha right whatever ship is listing at the time, it’s Youth Soccer Night at the match and starts a run of three consecutive home matches for all competitions. Kickoff for that match is 7 pm CT

Key Events:

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 14’ – Joe Gallardo (Grabbing Player) (1st)

AV Alta FC Yellow Card: 16’ – Maboumou Alassane (Bad Tackle) (7th)

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 20’ – Ryan Becher (Bad Tackle) (1st)

Union Omaha Goal: 27’ – Ryan Becher (Unassisted) (1st) 0-1

AV Alta FC Goal: 45’+2’ – Walmer Martinez (2nd) (A: Jimmie Villalobos, 2nd) 1-1

Union Omaha Subs: 46’ – Laurence Wootton ON; Ryen Jiba OFF
                                          Sergio Ors Navarro ON: Pato Faz OFF

AV Alta FC Goal: 50’ – Luca Mastrantonio (1st) (A: Walmer Martinez, 2nd) 2-1

Union Omaha Sub: 61’ – Prosper Kasim ON; Joe Gallardo OFF

AV Alta FC Subs: 61’ – Jerry Desdunes ON; Walmer Martinez OFF
                                     Eduardo Blancas ON; Emmanuel Alaribe OFF

AV Alta FC Subs: 67’ – Javier Mariona ON; Adam Aoumaich OFF
                                     Aaron Huerta ON; Jimmie Villalobos OFF

AV Alta FC Sub: 76’ – Osvaldo Lay ON; Harrison Robledo OFF

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 76’ – Max Schneider (Bad Foul) (4th)

Union Omaha Sub: 81’ – Mark Bronnik ON; Ryan Becher OFF

It’s an early tune that’s starting to become an trend.

Despite dominating possession and large parts of the match, Union Omaha found itself on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline Sunday night in Naples. Joe Gallardo scored his second of the year from the penalty spot to cancel out Andrés Ferrín’s penalty opener, but that was all the Owls could put past familiar foe Lalo Delgado. A strike from Ian Cerro on the verge of halftime and a bolt off the foot of Jayden Onen in the second half were enough to see FC Naples get back on track after having lost three straight league matches.

Coach Dominic Casciato only made two changes to the starters from the Texoma match – Brandon Knapp back in the starting lineup for Dion Acoff and Anderson Holt coming on for Samuel Owusu. However, the formation shifted slightly. Anderson shifted the defensive back three over leaving Marco Milanese with the central duties and Brent Kallman playing out on the right. With Dion completely absent from the lineup, Joe Gallardo moved to the right side with Laurence Wootton moving up to balance Sergio Ors Navarro. 

For FC Naples, there was a fair bit of shuffling to do given the recent run of red cards that has plagued Matt Poland’s side. While Delgado, Jake Dengler, and Jayden Onen found their way back to starting after serving suspensions, Karsen Henderlong and Joel Serrano were unavailable for their own red cards in the last match. Mark Gratacos entered the lineup for Luka Prpa with Gustavo Fernandes giving way so Dengler could fit into the Naples back line.

The shuffles by both sides were intended to spark a change from their recent runs of form, and as the game opened it looked like Union Omaha were going to be able to do just that. 

Early possession and passing heavily favored Los Búhos as they managed to pin Naples back with some really good ball movement. However, each time they moved forward, Naples would find just enough to either cut out the final pass or clear any crosses that came about.

A little miscue at the back on those clearances almost handed Omaha their first great chance of the night. In the 12th minute, a heavy touch in attack fell to Brecc Evans whose attempted clearance caught Sergio square in the chest. The Spaniard took the ball down and popped a through pass to Aarón Gómez just inside the penalty box. With two defenders around him, though, Aarón was unable to bring the ball down to get a shot off. 

The ensuing clearance managed to hit Laurence this time, and the chested ball fell back toward Aarón. After a couple of quick passes, the ball came to Charlie Ostrem who tried to pick out Laurence on a run to the back post. The Naples defense was quick to respond to this one and finally forced the ball out of play. Any danger was summarily relieved after the throw in what would end up being a pretty accurate display of how the rest of the night would go.

Though the stats were very one-sided toward the Owls, Naples ended up finding a breakthrough just 8 minutes later. After another frustrating attack stalled out, the hosts found themselves on the counter with a long ball played down the right side to Ferrín. With a step on Marco, the Colombian drove into the box with an eye on testing Rashid’s reflexes. Marco found himself jostling to recover and extended his arm into Ferrín’s back, causing him to flop over inside the box. Though perhaps exaggerated, and maybe a little soft, the push from behind was enough for referee Rodrigo Albuquerque to point to the spot and give Marco a yellow for his trouble. Having won the penalty Ferrín also took the honor of the spot kick, a well-placed ball to Rashid’s right that froze the keeper in place and handed an unlikely lead to Naples.

Even though a goal down, Omaha didn’t give up their share of possession as they pressed for a quick equalizer. Nothing seemed to be able to break down a disciplined Naples back line until they returned the penalty favor 9 minutes after taking the lead.

After some head tennis in midfield, Brandon was able to pick out a solid run by Aarón into the left side of the box. The ball bounced in front of the striker, and as he tried to shield it off from the encroaching defense, Dengler wrapped his foot up and around Aarón to try to clear the area. The contact, though perhaps also soft, was high and enough to bring Aarón down in a heap near the end line. Once again, without hesitation, Albuquerque pointed toward the spot. After some stalling by Delgado, Joe stepped up and sent the keeper to his left as the ball rocketed in to the right to equalize the score.

The game drawing level did nothing to change the story of the first half. Omaha would attack, generally up the wings. Naples would break down the attack and start a counter. Omaha would find a way to deal with the counter and start back up on the possession again. It grew more and more frustrating as the clock ticked toward halftime, but it still felt like a breakthrough was coming.

Unfortunately, that breakthrough went the hosts’ way.

After getting some offside relief on a biting counter attack that nearly put Julian Cisneros on the scoresheet, Union Omaha’s luck ran out almost literally on the stroke of halftime. On a desperation clearance that was just looking to clear their lines, Naples got another gift as the ball bounced to Brent trailing back. The defender tried to head the ball somewhere, but without a good touch it fell right into the path of Cerro. With Rashid off his line expecting to corral Brent’s header, Cerro needed only to chip the ball up and over the stranded keeper and into the net. Just like that, the halftime team talk changed as Dom and crew had to figure out how to make up for another goal that shouldn’t have been.

Instead, the second half went almost exactly the same as the first half. Lots of possession and passing continued to fall in Omaha’s favor, but the final ball never came. As if to put salt in the wounds of frustration, Onen’s 49th-minute thunderbolt took the air out of the match and the faith in a turnaround to bed.

After a throw in on the Naples right side, Max Glasser found room just enough to beat his man for a perfect cross into the box. Despite having three Owls in the box to cover two attackers the ball slipped past Ferrín, who took two of the defenders with him, and directly to Onen about 12 yards out. The ensuing volley’s power and placement left Rashid no time to act as it settled into the top of the near post netting. Against the run of play yet again Naples managed to capitalize and do what Omaha could not—finish.

Once Omaha found themselves two goals down, the play started to become more desperate. The visitors still controlled possession and passing, but any half chance that appeared opened up for a shot from range or an ill-advised dribble to try to make anything happen. Crosses flew in, but were easily dealt with by a well-drilled team that had the luxury of sitting compact and making sure nothing got past them. The more they sat back, the more they were able to stymie the Owls until the final whistle blew on a night that saw Naples back to form and Union Omaha still looking for answers.

The Good:

If I had to find a bright spot tonight, I’d be Anderson Holt. The young defender found himself in the starting lineup and did a great job in the position he was asked to hold down. He didn’t let a lot of things past him, and when he did he did well to try to put the attacker off long enough for help to arrive. He was able to get up to support the attack on occasion, and had a few good passes that could’ve opened up some opportunities if anyone could’ve gotten on the end of them before being closed down by the Naples back line.

I said at the beginning of the match that I was concerned about the lineup, but it wasn’t so much because Anderson was in there. He’s a solid choice at starter, and I’m happy to see his development continuing on a good trajectory.

The Bad:

Grab your coffee (or your whiskey). This is going to be a bit.

1) I’m going to start off with Brent again. This isn’t going to take the same form as the rant I had on him a few games ago, however. This match felt quite different than calling out a veteran who isn’t acting like one.

That’s because the last few games he’s actually been really solid. I was getting my apology/retraction article ready because ever since I wrote what I did about him, he started getting steadily better. He communicated a lot more effectively. He wasn’t making cheap emotional fouls. In fact, he was extremely gracious about the yellow card he did take in Texoma last match for a tactical foul. It was purely professional, and he conducted himself as if it was, even giving the ref a pat on the shoulder as if to say “fair point, no objections”.

And honestly, this isn’t even about the mistakes in the match. You can argue he needs to be more decisive on the header that led to Cerro’s goal. There were several times late where he was up in the box to receive crosses, yet he headed them more away as if he were a defender. Stuff happens sometimes, and especially when you’re desperate for any goal from open play you can get.

But I noticed something about him between his run of improved form and his efforts against Naples. Dom had him in the center of the backline earlier, and he started to truly anchor that defense. Sunday saw him return to the right side of the formation with Marco holding down center to make way for Anderson on the left. And suddenly, the performance went down.

I’m not trying to say he can’t play the right side of a three center back formation, but it hasn’t gone unnoticed that his struggles early had him playing in the same position. I also won’t put Onen’s goal directly on him (as one of three in the box who didn’t do a damned thing to stop him receiving that cross). However, he moved in on Ferrín’s decoy run and left Joe all alone behind them to recognize Onen’s threat and move in to stop—something that ultimately he was unable to do.  Should Joe have seen that earlier? Maybe. Remember though, Joe isn’t a natural defender in the same way that Brent is.

I admit this might be an eye test thing, but it makes me wonder why Dom decided to go with the personnel he did—especially without Dion in the lineup at all (what’s up with that, by the way!?)—after Brent’s struggles early in the season. Then again, maybe someone with more than 100 MLS caps to their name should be able to slide right on occasion and be ok.

2) While I don’t prescribe to any religion in my adult years, my childhood taught me at least one valuable thing that I can bring to soccer: One prays at the cross, not cross and then pray. 

We have done a LOT of crossing then praying this year, if you haven’t noticed. We’re used to seeing that, though, especially with the likes of Dion and Charlie up the wings. They are fast, can get space, and have a very good touch on their passes. 

But the opponents are seeing that, as well, and they’re ready for it. Some stats will show what I mean.

Vs. Naples – 39 crosses (9 accurate – 23%), 0 goals
Vs. Texoma – 30 crosses (6 accurate – 20%), 0 goals (unless you count an olympico)
Vs. Portland – 22 crosses (8 accurate – 22%), 1 goal (off a corner)
Vs. Madison – 19 crosses (5 accurate – 26%), 0 goals

That doesn’t bode well. It means the crosses aren’t finding people in good enough positions to beat the keeper. My thought is that there are two reasons for this.

First, our box presence is much diminished from last year. We don’t have a massive body that can shield off a defender and meet the ball or use their movement in space to get a more free header away. Aarón is good, but he’s not able to make those back post runs or just tower over his marker. And Brent tried to do what he could in the closing minutes of this match, but he apparently doesn’t have the head for goal that a natural striker (or Virgil van Dyke) can call upon. With the targets gone, who receives these crosses.

Second, and part of the reason we’re missing the presences in the box, is that I think teams have figured us out a bit. We haven’t tried to go through the middle as much this year—understandable considering Lagos’ injury and the loss of Pedro Dolabella. The one match where we were able to do whatever we wanted on the pitch, through the pitch, up the wings, and anywhere was against Tormenta. Which was also our last victory. 

So without a viable attack through the middle, opponents don’t have to be as concerned with shutting that down. Stay compact in the box, step to anything that tries to dribble in the middle, but keep back and wait for the cross. If you watch Naples, that’s how they dealt with our attack. And so many times we’d get a cross in and they were waiting there with a well placed header or a pair of defenders to harass the attacker into not making a clean touch on the ball. 

The other thing the cross and pray attack does is leave us vulnerable to clearances and long balls that turn into counters. That’s what led to both of Naples’ first half goals. With the attackers up there’s not a lot of help back if a defender makes a mistake on his clearance, or worse, loses his man and ends up in a foot race. 

Unfortunately, until we find a way to play through the middle or a better target for our crosses into the box, we’re going to be praying a lot.

3) I don’t need to tell anyone reading this how bad our season has started. But I will anyway.

This is the first time in the history of the club that Union Omaha has ended a round of matches and found themselves in sole possession of last place. Even in 2022 when we had the down year off the first title. Even in 2023 when we started slow before torching the league. Even in the 2020 season when we hadn’t even kicked a ball. Even if it was on 0 points to start a season, there has always been someone tied with us on points and preventing us from being sole occupants of the cellar.

Until Sunday.

With Texoma’s resurgent form and the rest of the league having played a few more games than we have, there’s a little bit of a hole to dig out of. This is something never experienced by the Búho faithful, and it’s hard to see things getting better quickly. 

The silver lining there though – Madison and Greenville (our next two opponents) are struggling as well. The Mingos have scored as many goals on the season as we have (in one more game) and if you take out Greenville’s three goals in the opener, so have they. If things are going to turn around in a hurry, it has to start with some wounded opponents, or the season could get away from us quickly. As I joked on the socials—we can’t play Tormenta every week.

An Observation:

Speaking of Tormenta, and running back to the theme of Union Omaha’s troubles with dominating possession and losing games, I want to touch on something Ian Cameron recently said. As posted by Luke Martin in his Tormenta coverage (@lukermartin.bsky.social), the South Georgia coach is finding himself at the same wit’s end that we seem to be regarding owning games yet giving up goals without getting our own in return. Coach Cameron’s comments following a recent loss:

“It’s easier to counterattack. It’s easier to create chances that way. And we’ve got to have a wholesale look at if our game model is the right thing. I’ve been pretty strident in the last few years that it is. I’ve been trying to teach the boys to control the ball, have a high percent of possession, but the reality is at this level, you see it across the board, that when teams have 68 percent plus possession, I think tonight was probably 75 percent, then they rarely win at this level and it’s really frustrating and it’s a real challenge.” 

If you read the remainder of the comments, and Luke’s article, you can understand how a coaching staff might look to see if they need to blow everything up and start again. Doubly so for a fanbase who would rather have 30 percent possession and a 2 points-per-match average than 70 percent possession and a stunned look as another counterattack goal goes in.

I don’t know if all the data backs coach’s comments, but it can sure feel that way. And as I mentioned above, Union Omaha’s style makes us very susceptible to the counter. Don’t take this as a questioning of Dom or his tactics. We’ve been in the doldrums before and he’s found a way to put it together to get us to the top of the league. But I also can’t turn a blind eye to the facts that in every match we’ve dropped points in we won possession and passing, but somehow couldn’t win the one stat that matters. 

Then again, if I had a fool-proof solution to what seems to be a league-wide problem, I wouldn’t be sitting here tossing grenades from the peanut gallery.

Whatever happens, we won’t be the only ones needing to brace for some frustration this season. And that means the team is going to need the supporters, and we’re going to need each other.

A few drinks might not hurt as well.

Key Events: 

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 19’ – Marco Milanese (Tactical Foul) (3rd) 

FC Naples Goal:  20’ – Andrés Ferrín (3rd) (Penalty) 1-0

FC Naples Yellow Card: 23’ – Julian Cisneros (Bad Foul) (4th)

Union Omaha Goal: 32’ – Joe Gallardo (2nd) (Penalty) 1-1

FC Naples Goal: 45’+3’ – Ian Cerro (1st) (Unassisted) 2-1

FC Naples Goal: 49’ – Jayden Onen (2nd) (A: Max Glasser – 1st) 3-1

Union Omaha Sub: 54’ – Mehdi Ouamri ON; Laurence Wootton OFF

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 56’ – Mehdi Ouamri (Obstructing Restart) (2nd)

FC Naples Sub: 68’ Justin Weiss ON; Ian Cerro OFF

FC Naples Yellow Card: 69’ – Kevin O’Connor (Bad Foul) (4th)

Union Omaha Subs: 72’ – Samuel Owusu ON; Anderson Holt OFF
– Prosper Kasim ON; Aarón Gómez OFF
– Kemy Amiche ON; Sergio Ors Navarro OFF

Union Omaha Sub: 81’ – Ryen Jiba ON; Marco Milanese OFF

FC Naples Sub: 81’ – Tyler Pasnik ON; Jayden Onen OFF (Injury)

FC Naples Subs: 90’+2’ – Gustavo Fernandes ON; Kevin O’Connor OFF
– Rodolfo Sulia ON; Andrés Ferrín OFF