Photo courtesy of Angel City FC.
Christen Press, right, and Angel City could not get the breaks it needed against Gotham FC on Sunday evening.
Sometimes a team can look dominant on the pitch for 90 minutes, but the end result does not justify the means.
Time after time, one team can control all the possession, take basically all the shots and have the better-looking chances, while its opponent may have very little of the ball, and take far less shots, but they make good use of their chances, score a goal, clamp down on defense and eventually ride out the storm to a result.
That was what happened Sunday evening in the first ever bi-coastal showdown between Angel City FC and New York/New Jersey Gotham FC. Despite being out-possessed 55% to 45%, and only having just two shots on goal the whole match, Gotham made the most of their two chances in the match. Ifeoma Onumonu’s second half strike, combined with a bend but don’t break defense was all Gotham needed to escape Banc of California Stadium with the 1-0 win and with it, the three points.
“It’s just one of those days,” Angel City head coach Freya Coombe said. “Other days you win the game, so I don’t think we should be too downbeat on it. But I think we need to look at how we can get a faster start going in games because there’s a couple of games now where it’s taken us too long to get ready.”
After 56 scoreless minutes, Onumonu edged Angel City ahead in the 57th miniute. Caprice Dydasco crossed a ball into the penalty area, Onumonu got a touch on the ball, but it was a heavy touch, and the ball went to Angel City defender Vanessa Gilles, but Midge Purce dispossessed Gilles, the ball came back to Onumonu, and she quickly one-timed a left-footed shot past keeper Did Haricic.
While Angel City could not find the back net, it certainly wasn’t for lack of effort. Angel City was on the attack just two minutes in, as Jun Endo played a left-footed cross into the six-yard box to Christen Press, who had gotten past Dydasco, Press tried to slot the shot at the far post area, but did not get a good touch on the ball, and the ball bounced inside the six and went wide right. Endo herself had a shot on goal in the eighth minute, as Cari Roccaro sent a long ball down the left side of the field, Endo raced past the Gotham back line to the ball and dribbled down the left side and into the penalty area. Endo chipped a ball towards goal, but keeper Ashlyn Harris calmly parried the ball away from goal. Angel City had another great look at goal in the 28th minute, as Endo crossed into the penalty area, Press headed a ball into the six-yard box, Simone Charley tried to head the ball into the back net point-blank, but Gotham’s Estelle Johnson beat her to the punch, heading the ball over the end line.
Angel City kept up the pressure late in the second half looking for the equalizer. Angel City came within inches of an equalizer in the 80th minute, as Savannah McCaskill played Press forward, Press launched a right-footed volley from 25 yards out that took a bit of a dangerous curl towards the Gotham goal, but first Harris got her hands on the ball to redirect the shot, then the ball hit off the far post, Endo however kept the attack alive for Angel City, as she turned, then fired a left-footed shot that was blocked, then eventually cleared out by Johnson. Angel City spent basically the remainder of the match on Gotham’s side of the pitch, and had two sequences where the ball was inside the Gotham penalty area, but could not get that one last touch to get the ball into the back net.
“Momentum was very low in the first half whereas the second half was very high,” Endo said. “We were not able to finish those chances. That’s going to be something that we are going to continue to work on.”
Angel City will try to bounce back on Friday evening, though that won’t be easy, as they travel to Portland to face the Thorns.
