It took 5 games, probably 3 more than it should have, but the Three Sparks finally recorded a win and that against long-time nemesis the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. The official all-time record against the Hounds is now 3-8-3 although one of the wins was by an infamous forfeit and one loss by penalty shootout (which went 8-7). The only other win on the field was 9/14/22, a 2-1 result.
Further, the Legion did it with a depleted roster, having been reduced to just 17 active players due to injury, illness and absence. Even further, one player got injured in the game, so options became very limited indeed. And although 4 substitutions were made, 2 of those were with barely a minute remaining, so there was some serious ironman football going on.
Which is, in fact, all to the good, given that most of the missing players should be available for next weekend’s game against Indy Eleven. The only player out for sure will be A.J. Paterson, who is a good 3 weeks from full recovery. And it should give the team a much-needed boost, even though the referees yet again made it as hard as they could. Here are our grades (not surprisingly, they are generally very good):
GK: JASSEM KOLEILAT – B
Jassem’s second clean sheet of the year came without him having to overexert himself, thanks to some serious protection. He only faced one shot on target, a fairly routine stop in the 83rd minute. Before that the closest Pittsburgh was a hit on the woodwork. He did make 2 clearances though. Untypically, his passing was way off: a very weak 51.5% accuracy rate on just 33 touches (which is extremely low).
LB: DAWSON MCCARTNEY – A-
Dawson’s only cross in the game was successful, very much so, as it found Sebastian Tregarthen for the game’s only goal. He did not attempt any shots himself. Passing was pretty good in general with an 85.2% success rate on 61 tries. Defense was surprisingly limited: just 2 clearances and he won 1 of 5 duels.
LB: RAMIZ HAMOUDA- A
The Legion is getting its money’s worth out of Raz; well, the money he will make the club in the near future. He went the full 90 out of necessity and was a rock. 3 clearances and an interception to his credit, tied with winning 6 of 9 duels. He connected on an impressive 73 passes, missing just 7. Absolutely key to the win.
CB: PHANUEL KAVITA – B+
Phanny was equally as important as Raz, with some equally hefty stats. A massive 8 clearances, 2 interceptions and 3 for 5 in duels. His passing accuracy was a smidge higher at 91.9% although he only made 62 attempts. Getting the week off was clearly good for him.
RB: AMIR DALEY – A
Amir was subbed out at half-time, which turned out not to be an intentional strategic decision but forced by injury. He made no attacking contributions in his 45 minutes, but did make 2 clearances and won 3 of 4 duels. Passing was superlative, connecting 31 of 33 times. Let’s hope he is back quickly.
LDM: SAM MCILLHATTON – A-
Sam hampered himself with a deserved yellow card in the 14th minute. That is, you would think so. In fact, he had an excellent game. He had 2 shots, 1 on target and 1 off, although the good one was long-range and a bit weak. Defensively he contributed 2 tackles, 1 clearance and 1 interception. Despite his diminutive size he won 8 of 12 duels, including the only one in the air. Passing was up there too: 88.9% accurate on 45 attempts.
RDM: SETH ANTWI – A
Another defensive stalwart, and proving to be a great addition to the team. Seth in fact created a scoring chance but his duties were largely elsewhere: 2 tackles, 2 clearances and an interception. 4 out of 6 duels won, and another player with stratospheric passing stats, completing 91.7% of his 72 passes.
LAM: GEVORK DIARBIAN – B+
First off, Gevork was not offside on the second disallowed goal. Or at least, if he was it was literally by a hair. Other than that he created 2 scoring chances, had a shot blocked and sent in 1 successful cross. His passing was way up there for an attacking player: 83.3% accurate overall on 24 passes and 93.3% in the attacking half, with only 1 of 18 failing to connect. Spoiled it a little with a clear yellow card foul right at the end of the game.
CAM: TYLER PASHER – B+
Tyler doesn’t generally wear the captain’s armband but he has become the spritual leader of the Three Sparks this year. Working in the middle really suits him. Only 1 shot, which was blocked and 2 unsuccessful crosses. However, he has incredible ball control skills and draws defenders to himself like flies to a flame.
RAM: SEBASTIAN TREGARTHEN – A
Seba will never have a shooting lane narrower than the one he scored on. With the outside of his foot while facing away from goal as well. His only other shot went slightly wide but he was credited with a chance creation. At half-time he was tasked to move back into Amir’s right back slot and proceeded to rack up 3 tackles, 5 clearances and 2 interceptions, while also winning 7 of 15 duels. Easy choice for Man of the Match.
FWD: ROMARIO WILLIAMS – B
Romario played 69 minutes, in which he had 2 shots off target, one that was a cheeky long-range chip over Nico Campuzano that was just over the bar and a close-range header that also went over the top. Passing was rather weak, going 10 for 16. He did add 2 clearances though.
SUB: PETER-LEE VASSELL – B+
As noted above, Peter-Lee should have had his second Legion goal (he scored against Indy – the next opponent – back in September). That was his only scoring opportunity as the Legion focussed more on defense, but he did create 2 more scoring chances. He missed on just 1 of 14 passes as well.
SUB: RONALDO DAMUS – A-
On for Romario, Ronaldo did not have a great deal to do in attack; just 2 blocked shots. He blocked 2 at the other end thnough and also made 2 clearances, so job well done. How close he is to 90 minutes fit is not clear.
SUB: KADEEM COLE and SERGE NGOMA – N/A
It’s not entirely clear why Jay Heaps decided to swap out 2 players so late; Kadeem and Serge were both preparing to come on before Gevork got the yellow card so that was not a factor. In any event, neither of them recorded any stats and were just fresh bodies to plug holes.
HC: JAY HEAPS – A+
We’ve already discussed how limited Jay’s choices were in this game. His preparation for it was absolutely on the money and the strategic decision making was obviously correct. With players hopefully returning to the squad this week he will have far more flexibility and what he does with it wll be interesting to see.
