Yakima struck first and then held on for a big road win against Seattle-based Washington Crossfire, 1-0
Abdulwali Aman scored in the second minute of the game, a shot along the left side of the endline that tricked Crossfire’s goalie Herrick and snuck into the back of the net.
“When you score the first goal early, everything kind of helps,” head coach Alex Silva said.
What followed was an intense back and forth game that saw the Yakima backline bend but not break and some good opportunities by Yakima go to waste.
One of the keys was a much sturdier backline than what the fans saw against Tacoma. Dropping two midfielders back helped retain control of the ball, Silva said.
Goalie Claudio Lazar agreed. “The guys were determined today,” he said.
At the end, Yakima prevailed thanks to their cohesive work as a team, which was the point of that fabled team meeting at the end of the loss to Tacoma Friday night, which lasted so long into the night the stadium personnel asked them to leave because it was time to close the stadium for the night.
“The meeting was very important,” Alex Silva said. “It was important for every player to come out and say what they were feeling.”
The result was the first early lead, the first shutout and the first win in a season that looked to be turning sour in a hurry and which now has at least the faint scent of hope for what’s ahead.
“It’s a big weight off our shoulders,” said Alvaro Valencia. “We needed that big win just to move on forward.”
The team had trouble figuring out what they were doing wrong and why they were 0-4 when they had oodles of talent, Valencia added. The team meeting helped, he added.
“We always knew we had a talented team,” said Ukraine-born Russian defender Ivan Popov. “Things worked out today.”
It wasn’t easy for the Reds. The Crossfire’s team was loaded with talent itself, too and brought constant danger via players like Jamie Finch.
“They had a few chances and a few good counterattacks,” said Warlen Silva in Portuguese. “But we kept pushing and were almost able to score the second goal.”
Kurt Russell, injured in the Tacoma game is doubtful for the first game in Canada. Vini Oliveira is still out with a leg injury and Lazar was sporting a nasty gash after colliding with one of his defenders.
“I feel just fine,” he said. “Everything is good at the end because we didn’t get scored [on].”
Next up are three games in Canada starting with Abbotsford Tuesday, Vancouver Thursday and Victoria Saturday.
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