1-0 to Furman last Wednesday, on a PK by Esquivel. Obviously, a lackluster performance by the Paladins, who were out-hustled and out-tackled by the Eagles. The penalty came in the first half when the GS keeper dragged Esquivel down in the box (isn't that a red card, fouling a player to prevent a clear goal opportunity?) Esquivel buried his fourth spot kick of the season to put his total at 9. For those of you without handy access to a calculator, that's only 5 goals scored from the field. And this is the Paladins' leading scorer this year. Furman players Dempsey and Raad hit the post once each, and soph Wes Windsor hit the crossbar with a nice free kick, so they might have had a more impressive score---but the Eagles were down a man for a good bit of the second half, and still played a very close match. So I guess Allison and his lads are content to beat the #9 team in the nation 1-nil (SC), and then turn araound and beat #9 in the conference 1-nil. Just scraping by ain't gonna cut it in the tournament. --King Eric
King Eric, Come on now. I take it you aren't that familiar with Furman's record versus Georgia Southern. All of the games are extremely close versus then, especially the games down at GSU. The field down there is terrible and it's a tough place to play, because they have some of the most ruthless fans that sit right on top of the field. A 1-0 win versus Georgia Southern isn't that great on paper, but to shutout another team is. I think that's five straight shutouts. While it seems they do need to get the offense kicking again, the defense is holding strong. And that's something I'm sure Doug is happy about. Because the teams of old had great defense and fought hard. They didn't always have the best offensive talent, but the D was always strong.
Srod-- You take it correctly that I wasn't that familiar with Furman-GSU history... I don't mean to denigrate the challenge faced down in Statesboro. The Eagles played a very tough match. They were no slouches. I just want to see the Paladins put some fire in their attack. There is a lack of intensity, and a reluctance to press forward, which result in a disproportionate number of back-passes or failed dribbling attempts when the ball should be going to space--usually out wide, or over the top or through the opposing backline. Such opportunities too often are not taken, as this year's goals-for record shows... This is the type of attacking that has had Furman on the ropes in several games this year. (In the sense that the opposition was doing the attacking.) You rightly commend the Paladin defense, because without them, the meager results up front would not be enough in many games. Another shutout is always a welcome addition to the recordbooks... I suppose I tend to focus on attacking matters more because that's my area of (feigned) expertise... I was a big fan of Gray Griffin, because he was solid in the back, but he also had a great head for distribution. He launched some beautiful passes from back there... King Eric