Late rally not enough for East Bridgewater in 3-2 loss
Written by Dave Palana
Thu, Jul 03, 2008 15:52
Bryan Wright holds off a Whitman player in the midfield. Wright would later score East Bridgewater’s first goal.
East Bridgewater rallied late, but could not overcome an early deficit
in a 3-0 loss to Whitman United in East Bridgewater on Monday.
After finding themselves down three goals, East Bridgewater cut the
lead to one late in the second half, but Whitman was able to hang on
and get the victory.
“When we played fast with one or two touches, they couldn’t really stay
with us,” Whitman player and East Bridgewater resident Dave Floeck said
about how Whitman was able to control play early. “The speed of play in
the first half was much quicker and we thought we could beat these guys
around the corners.”
Whitman was in control for most of the first half, dictating the tempo
on both ends of the field and limiting the chances for East
Bridgewater. They got on the board early in the first half when a cross
from the right corner came straight to Shaun McDonough, who was wide
open at the far post and headed the ball into the net.
East Bridgewater put together some scoring opportunities following
McDonough’s goal, but Whitman continued to dominate possessions and
Mike Quinn made it 2-0 Whitman on a shot into the far corner. EB United
began to mount some sustained offense as the half wound down, but were
unable to connect for a goal and went into halftime down 2-0.
“Our biggest problem is that we’ve only played two games so far,” said
East Bridgewater coach Steve Meighan, who said his team is still
learning to play together. “We’re a bunch of different teams playing
together and we are just starting to gel.”
Chris Hostinick cut the Whitman lead to one with a goal in the closing minutes of the second half.
Whitman made it a three-goal differential early in the second on a Nick
Celia drive into the top-left corner. Following Celia’s goal, play
became increasingly physical culminating in a red card for East
Bridgewater player Paul Mullis. After Mullis’ ejection, EB United got
on the board with a short-handed goal by Bryan Wright who sent a ball
across the ground past Whitman keeper Warren MacCallum. With under 10
minutes to go, Chris Hostinick cut the Whitman lead to one with the
second East Bridgewater goal, but Whitman was able to hold off EB
United for the remainder of play.
“I thought we played really well in the second half especially when
were down a man and scored a goal,” Meighan said. “The big key is
communication on the field and that is how we turned things around.”
Whitman moved to 5-0 following the win and remains in first place in
the Champions Division of the Old Colony Men’s Soccer League while East
Bridgewater falls to 0-2-1. While EB United is still in search of their
first win, Meighan said he is confident the team will continue to
improve
“It will come,” he said. “I’m very proud of all the players. They do a lot for me, they play their hearts out.”
Both teams will be in action again next Monday when Whitman travels to
Hanover and East Bridgewater United hosts Rockland. East Bridgewater
Football Club will also be in action when they play second-place Shoe
City.
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