Wallaceburg Sting Stung Twice
2011 Wallaceburg Sting - Submitted Photo
The Wallaceburg Sting took their game on the road Sunday, August 14th, as they travelled to take on London Croatia, a team they previously tied while at home. Heavy rain prior to the game set up for a soggy match-up between the two clubs. As opening kickoff began, puddles were already evident on the field, a sure sign of a slip & slide type affair. Rain continued throughout the game, making field conditions and any flow to the game extremely difficult. It became customary & anticipated for any moving ball to come to a sudden halt on a regular basis at any given moment.
Croatia capitalized on the field conditions approximately 20 minutes into the game, when a ball was sent in just above the 6-yard box. As the Sting defender took a touch on the moving ball before clearing, he lost his footing, leaving the innocent Croatian forward an easy opportunity at goal, 1-0 Croatia. Things didn’t get any better for the Sting when a crossed ball from the right wing was sent past the far post and volleyed across the net just inside the opposite post, 2-0 Croatia. The damage only got worse as a third cross, this time from the left wing, slipped through the hands of the Wallaceburg keeper as he leaped into the air to make a play on it. All the bystanding attacker had to do was touch it into the net for a 3-0 halftime lead.
The second half was a more evenly played, seeing Wallaceburg generate chances of their own, but never capitalizing. With 10-15 minutes remaining in the game, Croatia hammered home a direct free kick from approximately 20 yards out, atop the 18-yard box. This would be the final blow Wallaceburg would face, before the soggy match was completed, finishing in a 4-0 defeat at the hands of the their Croatian counterparts.
The Sting next came home, Friday, August 19th, to host London Marconi, in a much drier tilt, on Wallaceburg’s Kinsmen field.
In the opening half, both team took charge at different times during the game. Despite a shaky start, Wallaceburg really seemed to settle in late in the first half, being able to patiently move the ball from one side of the field to the other, waiting for a scoring chance to arise. Neither team, however, could put it past the opposition’s keeper, and the two sides went into halftime in a scoreless draw. The second half was more of the same, each team generating chances, but again unable to beat the final defender or make their mark by putting a nicely placed shot out of the reach of the keeper.
As misfortune would have it, London Marconi would be the beneficiaries of a string of bad bounces deep inside Wallaceburg’s territory. Down the left wing line, a Marconi attacker broke toward the Wallaceburg net along the goalline. Cut off by a Sting defender and dribbling towards the out of bounds marker, he sent in a hard shot along the goalline, attempting to keep the attack alive. The Sting defender stuck his foot out, attempting to block his shot & prevent any further harm. Unfortunately, the ball ricocheted off his leg, toward the gap between the keeper and his near post. The goalie, forced to react quickly to the now-deflected ball, did all he could in the small frame of time allotted to him as he outstretched his closest arm to reach for the ball. It was of no help however, as the ball just again deflected off his reactionary stab and into the back of the net for a 1-0, Marconi lead.
Minutes later, with time winding down, Wallaceburg was now forced to re-group from the unfortunate blow & searching for a tying goal of their own. Out of position defensively, Marconi broke down the right wing on a 2-on-1, in which the streaking winger sent a ball inside the 18-yard box towards an open teammate all alone out front. His pass was on, and the open Marconi player one-touched the ball toward the net. The Sting’s keeper was able to make a play on it, but it was enough for the ball to cross the line for a 2-0 Marconi lead.
The Sting countered back quickly, and fortune finally fell on their side, when a free kick sent in from the right wing was dropped by the keeper. Attempting to grab it out of midair before it could reach further danger, it slipped through his grasp, falling behind him into now-vacant territory. The Sting’s, Roberto Attardi ran on and put it into the empty net. The Sting had another cross from a similar location only minutes later, but this time it didn’t produce the same result. The final whistle sounded only minutes later and the Sting fell by a score of 2-1.
The Sting’s next travel to Strathroy on Sunday, August 28th to take on Middlesex, another team they previously tied at home.