Duke 3:0 NC State An ugly game on an ugly night in Durham. Cool temps with a steady rain. Nigi Adogwa with a hat trick. Duke scored first in the 38th minute on a header by Adogwa in the box after the Pack failed to clear. The second goal game early in the second half on a weird play. Joe Kelly sent a low shot just past the far post, the State keeper made a quasi save, Adogwa alertly kept the ball from crossing the end line, and then poked it in the net while he was nearly on his backside. Third goal came midway through the second half on a nice shot from just outside the 18. Duke pretty much owned this game...but State was not at full strength due to some injuries, and Queeley who was sitting due to a red card last weekend. When Salter returns for State, they'll have a front line to contend with. One thing that really stood out in this game..Tarantini was pretty low key! I mean he had his usual, "hey, come on!" several times...but he seems to have calmed down considerably. Rennie bitched at the ref the whole game. I guess he thinks that's the sign of a good coach. State's Argentinian midfielders can play...but I've never seen a team that dribbles so much. It's ridiculous. The other thing. State gave Duke WAY too much time and space. They didn't even pressure the ball in their own third. Duke's players had time to tee up several shots. Both teams emptied their benches...but Helton was noticeably missing for Duke tonight. I guess he must have an injury.
Helton has a sprained MCL. Outta commission for 2 weeks or so. Sounds like Duke finally finished off their chances. Bueno. Hats off to Nigi for scoring a hat trick.
Finally Duke finally showed flashes of what they were capable of tonight. Certainly NC State was without Queeley and Salter, but that is definitely cancelled out with the absence of Helton and his sprained MCL. Comments after the game left you to believe that there could be a chance that he will be back against Virginia, and they will need him if they are going to have a chance against the Cavs. Another freshman defender for Duke, Danny Miller (E. Brunswick, NJ) pretty much had his way with Aaron King. When they get Helton back, who proved to be one of the top defenders in the conference with solid performances against UNC and Clemson earlier in the season, the Duke defense should be young and stable. The big question mark for this Duke team is whether or not they can score goals consistently. Adogwa has seven goals and is now tied for the ACC lead in that catagory, but he is definitely the enigma of the conference. He is capable of scoring boatloads of goals (like tonight) and then vanishing for games at a time. We'll see which Adogwa shows up next week. They have been playing Camp (6'3") and Loftus (6'5") up front as well, and both have been a factor. Camp is one of the more polished midfielders in the conference, and leads the ACC in assists. Both of those two certainly compliment Adogwa more than the other options. Cila has been playing in the midfield the last couple of games and looks much more comfortable (although still not a real scoring threat) and Wymer never really scares anyone when he's out there. It is easy to bash Rennie, but let's give him some kudos for trying to shuffle things up (Camp and Loftus up front, Adogwa off the bench, Cila in the midfield) when the results haven't gone his way. Even Luv Da Bears would have to be willing to concede that.
SSS, from what I saw tonight, Duke was playing a 3-5-2, with Camp and Carey playing the attacking mids, Kelly as the D-mid. I guess you could say Camp played like a withdrawn forward. Here's what I don't get, in regards to Adogwa. I've seen Duke 4 times this year, and Adogwa is always their most dangerous player..whether he's starting or coming off the bench. But it seems like half the time he's in Rennie's doghouse. In my mind, he has not been as inconsistent as you say...but that's my opinion of course. I thought Duke's best player tonight was Kelly. He really controlled the midfield...played smart...was a ball winner and distributed well. I also like Kelly because he doesn't dribble, just to dribble. It drives me nuts when I watch these college players dribbling like there's no tomorrow, then they lose possession. It's lazy soccer. I'm also a big fan of Ian Carey...he's a baller. Some nice touches tonight. He plays fast..the way the game is meant to be played, unlike some of his teammates who don't have any vision, so all they do is dribble. Camp has a nice shot...he also gets himself in good positions on the field...but he needs to play faster and his defending is average at best. Agree with your assessment of Danny Miller...a solid and scrappy defender. Aaron King was dangerous a few times, but I agree, Duke's backs did a nice job of keeping him from going to his right. King has no left foot whatsoever, and that's how to defend him...make him use his left. State also couldn't put two passes together tonight...and off the ball, they were horrible. Very little movement. The way to beat Duke is to put high pressure on the ball, and State didn't do that at all. Also, Duke started all their attacking with their left back tonight, who usually had enough time to read his sociology text once he touched the ball. I really think Duke's problem is that there's a big team chemistry situation, and it begins at the top.
LDB, I think your opinion of Rennie is well documented in most of your posts. I do think this is an intriguing group to be working with because of how young the nucleus is. Carey is a very creative player, but is usually at his best in possession and not going forward and initiating the attack. Perea was much more of an attacking player than Carey. Hopefully Carey will develop this aspect to his game, because he certainly could have a bright future in the game if he can get more involved in his team going forward and not just in possession. Neither Carey or Camp will ever be accused of being defenders in the midfield, but that's what Kelly is in there for. I also like the fact that Kelly doesn't try to do to much with the ball, because he seems to understand to play within himself. He is able to get the ball to the players who can play (Camp, Carey, Cila) in the midfield, and he does a lot of the dirty work - maybe like a poor man's Scott Buete. I agree with your assessment of Adogwa, who is a very dangerous player whether he starts or comes off the bench. He has the ability to create scoring chances almost at will, but has been very inconsistent finishing. If he had finished half the chances he has had this year, he would be having an Alecko Eskandarian/Ali Curtis-type season! I do think that Miller did a great job with King, but I also agree with how dangerous King can be. He didn't have a whole lot to play with (although that will change when Salter comes back), and was asked to play on his own at times. None of the three Argentines that are at State are going to make anyone forget about Veron or Ortega! Peria seems drift in and out of every game I've seen him play. Chemistry is hard to develop in any team, and only time will tell (or maybe it already has) if Rennie can still relate to his players. What is encouraging is that he has a pretty good staff around him and has perhaps the top recruiting class in the country coming in next year. If you go on Top Drawer Soccer, you can see that three US U-18 National team players - Tomek Charowski (CMF/F), Justin Papadakis (GK), Michael Videira (CMF) - and maybe the top goalscorer in this class (Spencer Wadsworth) have all commited to play in Durham in 2004. Looking at the age of the key contributors in this Duke team now (Helton, Miller, Loftus - FR; Camp, Carey - SO; Adogwa, Kelly - JR), they could be developing a solid nucleus for 2004.
Yay, a win for Duke! BTW, nobody's ever mentioned that Rennie isn't a very strong recruiter. Sort of like the way in basketball Jim Boeheim was always considered to be a great recruiter but not a good game coach - er, until last year, I guess. But it takes a massive meltdown at some point in the process for such a talented group to go winless for so long (until tonight).
Well, I'll be the first to admit I got this wrong! It's a sign of the times that this was considered a good win for Duke but it was and they deserve congratualtions. It will be interesting to see what happens to both teams from here. Will Duke be able to build on this and put some Ws together? Will State be able to recover or will they go on one of the slides that made them a laughingstock for so long in years past?
Sue is right...Duke is one of those schools that recruits itself, just like Carolina and UVA. I assume all those kids SSS mentioned are top students, because from what I understand, Rennie gets very few academic exemptions, if any.
If you go on Top Drawer Soccer, you can see that three US U-18 National team players - Tomek Charowski (CMF/F), Justin Papadakis (GK), Michael Videira (CMF) - and maybe the top goalscorer in this class (Spencer Wadsworth) have all commited to play in Durham in 2004. Tomek is an excellant player, as well as, Videira. However, I never understood the Papadakis thing. Kid goalkeeps like a strainer, holes everywhere. I think Duke will be very tough next year. It will be interesting to watch the goalkeeper thing