North Carolina FC 4 – 2 Atlanta United 2
Cary, NC—North Carolina FC would get all of the goals they’d need within the first 20 minutes of the match against Atlanta United 2 but had to hold on to collect all three points.
North Carolina jumped out to a 3-0 lead, thanks to a Steven Miller brace.
The Dead Whales jumped on the visitors early. Atlanta’s defense cleared a cross out of their 18-yard box but NCFC midfielder Ben Speas headed the ball back in to keep the play alive. Forward Donovan Ewolo spun himself clear of his defenders and smashed the ball past Dylan Castanheira to put North Carolina up 1-0 in the game’s 7th minute.
Yamikani Chester intercepted a pass at midfield and sent the ball to Nazmi Albadawi who turned and fired a pass perfectly into Steven Miller’s stride. Miller’s right-footed shot beat Castanheira to the left corner to double the lead in the 15th minute.
Four minutes later, Speas started yet another play leading to a goal for NCFC when he found Ewolo with a high, curling pass at the far edge of Atlanta’s 6-yard box. Ewolo didn’t have a clean shot on goal, so he made a sliding pass across the box to a wide-open Miller who had the easy tap-in to put North Carolina up 3-0.
North Carolina had their way throughout the middle of the field during the first quarter of play. Atlanta’s young lineup was learning on the fly how to deal with the onslaught. “We made a concerted effort to try and let them go a little bit wider and not let them come through the middle of us,” Atlanta head coach Stephen Glass said after the game. “The way that the lads executed that in the first half wasn’t quite up to scratch and you see they were passing through the middle of us at will, really. Once we managed to get a grip of that second half, you saw a difference.”
The quartet of Speas, Albadawi, Miller, and Ewolo nearly tallied again in the 24th minute. Speas found Miller who made a clever give-and-go play with Albadawi while Ewolo occupied Atlanta’s defense. Miller got the ball back in the middle of the box, but his shot whizzed just wide.
Ben Speas once again played a pivotal play-making role for the Dead Whales against Atlanta United 2.
Miller talked about the growth of his playing relationship with Ewolo in his post-game remarks. “We had some games last year—probably not as many as we’d have liked together—we’re building on that from last year and the first twenty-something games this year it’s been good. We have a good relationship because we can talk to each other and say, ‘hey, I want the ball here, I want the ball there,’ and we’ve been talking a lot this week about where we can find each other and little movements to work off each other. To be honest, I should have had one more, two more and he probably could have had another one from each other.
Atlanta showed signs of fighting for points in this game late in the half and got some help from a deflection to get them back in the game. Kevin Barajas collected the ball in the middle of NCFC’s half and played the ball to Will Vint. The academy player took a quick touch and launched a hard shot from about 23 yards out. The ball redirected off of defender Aaron Guillen and caught Alex Tambakis leaning the other way.
The match looked like it was about to go from blowout to shootout when Wesley Dacas carried the ball through midfield with a 3-on-2 break. Dacas pushed the ball out to the left side of the box to an onrushing Bienvenue Kanakimana whose hard left-footed shot beat Tambakis, who had come out to challenge. With less than five minutes to go in the first half, Atlanta was gaining a foothold.
As fans were getting ready to head to the concession stands, Speas sent the ball wide to Miller who picked it up in his stride. He pushed the ball forward and found Ewolo eluding his defender at the near post. Ewolo tapped the ball past Castanheira in the 45th minute to staunch Atlanta’s momentum.
NCFC forward Donovan Ewolo tested Atlanta United 2 goalkeeper Dylan Castanheira throughout the game.
Miller reflected on the importance of that late goal after the game. “You look at the goals they (Atlanta) scored; we gave them a goal—I gave them the second goal and the first one was also a turnover,” he said. “I don’t think we ever felt like we were threatened, necessarily, to NOT win this game, after we went up early, but to create that separation after they come back and expend a lot of energy to get back in the game, that fourth one kind of breaks their back a little bit.”
The second half saw chances for both sides but neither side was able to finish. The best chance of the half came in the 85th minute when Dre Fortune let loose with a hard left-footed shot that had Castanheira beaten but banged off of the post.
“We talked about getting a fast start this week, and so I think we did get a fast start. However, I guess we didn’t talk enough about the middle part of the game,” NCFC head coach Dave Sarachan said following the game. “Important three points tonight, and winning at home is important.”
Sarachan also talked about the inconsistencies during the game, a topic that has come up throughout the year. “It’s a work in progress, trying to piece together 90 consistent minutes of pass and move and being better with the ball. I thought getting three goals early was very good. I thought we created good chances; I though our ball movement and our possession, combination play was good. They get a goal on a little bit of a turnover [and]it deflects, and then we just don’t do well on the second one, and now all of a sudden, we give them a little life. I thought our response was better, getting the fourth goal, but I still think there’s segments of the game that we could be a little cleaner.”
Final Notes
- With his brace on the night, Steven Miller moved into the goal-scoring lead for North Carolina with seven goals. He also leads the club with five assists.
- NCFC midfielder Austin da Luz was back in the lineup after battling a recurring foot injury. He came on for Yamikani Chester in the 79th
- Atlanta United 2 head coach Stephen Glass is a familiar face in Cary, having played for the Carolina RailHawks. He made seven appearances for the club in 2011.
- Up next for North Carolina is a match with Indy Eleven on August 3rd. The two clubs are tied with 37 points, making next week’s tilt the most crucial three points of the season.
Lineups
North Carolina FC: A. Tambakis; S. Brotherton, V. Igbekoyi (C. Duvernay 86’), DJ Taylor, A. Guillen; D. Fortune, B. Speas, Y. Chester (A. da Luz 79’), N. Albadawi (G. Smith 81’), S. Miller ©; D. Ewolo
Atlanta United 2: D. Castanheira ©; G. Benitez, W. Decas, K. Edwards (G. Tubbs 71’), B. Clagette; W. Vint, W. Reilly, K. Barajas (L. Fernando 70’); A. Carleton, B. Kanakimana, P. Okonkwo (L. Kissiedou, 45’)
Score:
North Carolina FC: 4
Atlanta United 2: 2
Goals:
North Carolina FC: D. Ewolo (7’ B. Speas); S. Miller (15’ N. Albadawi); S. Miller (19’ D. Ewolo); D. Ewolo (45’ S. Miller)
Atlanta United 2: W. Vint (34’ K. Barajas); B. Kanakimana (41’ W. Decas)
Discipline
North Carolina FC: none
[Opponent]: A. Carleton, YC, 66’
Attendance: 4,175
Photo gallery: North Carolina FC v Atlanta United 2
All photos by Victoria Klum
