Railhawks Vs. Battery Derby game

Not looking good for me.

The last trip I tried making up there ended up costing me close to $800 in car repairs and other expenses.

 

Don't worry, we'll meet you when we go down in mid August (or whenever the date is)

 

During the halftime Brian Wellman said the Cruz Azul match on July 25th may be the biggest soccer match ever in the state of north carolina or something like that. Also says we could see David Beckham right here in Cary, NC should both teams advance in USOC.

 

Heh, the USL Live commentators out of Atlanta have called you guys the Charlotte Railhawks a few times.

 

It was awesome to see the team bounce back from what might have been their worst league game so far (first away game to Atlanta probably the next worst), and put up what was probably their best performance (Puerto Rico stands out as the best other game). Actually, I'm only including the home games, not the ones I watched on USL live... none of them seemed that great, but I don't feel I really get the feel of the game watching on my computer screen...

Probably my favorite bit of Railhawks soccer so far was around the half hour mark of this game. The team had played great possession soccer, calmly working the ball back and forth across the field, forcing the battery to chase the game. They were playing with confidence, and really seemed to all be playing as a team, on the same page, so to speak. They weren't creating a lot of chances, like they have in some games, and, this is what I liked - they didn't freak out. They looked like they believed in themselves, and what they were doing, and that they could just stick with it and make it work. I think they looked more like a team at that time, and throughout this game, than they ever have. Much more, in fact. If they bring this game to the park for Bavarian next week, it could be a very long night for the visitors from Wisconsin.

I think it's worth mentioning that Stokes was incredible tonight. He flat out just took the ball off the feet of Battery attackers on several occasions. I hope he's not hurt too badly. Having not been subbed out all season, I can't see him coming off for Sola, who himself is returning from injury, if he wasn't somewhat hurt. The defense had a much better game, thankfully avoiding the horror show passing disasters that have sometimes caused them problems. It was nice to see Sola get back on the field.

I like Steele better on the outside, where he can play off the line and go one-on-one. Playing in the middle, he doesn't seem to find as much space and isn't necessarily as good against a crowd. He kept drifting out wide anyway, I guess, which is fine in that withdrawn forward position, but he didn't find as many spots to run on people. I really think the best option is him on the left, with Worthen on the bench (I believe Worthen is a very good player... but so are Carrieri and Edozien...). Alternatively, Worthen could be tried at left back and Norkus could be tried at striker... but maybe that's crazy talk.

I felt a little sorry for Edozien, as he clearly wanted to take the penalty. However, I would think that these things are worked out by the coaches ahead of time, to prevent any confusion on the field...

I'd like to thank any Railhawks players reading this for a great game (oh, and coaches too - it really looked like the team had a plan, and it seemed like a good one). Also, thanks to the supporters section. It was their best game also - more and varied chants and songs, and the young guys did a great job of getting other parts of the stadium involved. Finally, intentional or not, thanks to the Railhawks administration for getting rid of the dancers... now, if we could just silence the accursed in-game music!!

 

Im sure the guys were tired but only 3 guys that started Sat match started on Friday. I think our coach's theory was to try and weather the storm and then put on our offensive players and steal the game or at least get a draw. Unfortuantely for us, it didn't work. It did give our reserve guys some real match experience and allowed our starters to rest. I know you guys want to win the USOC and so do the Battery. Now well have some rested bodies on Tuesday.

But Carolina is looking pretty solid and I look forward to the return leg on our turf this season.

mikey

 

Just watched the game tonight, nice interview Jarrett

 

We're making progress...there wasn't any PA music during play in the whole first half.

Now, somebody needs to tell the PA announcer that if the ENTIRE STADIUM is engaged in a "RAIL"..."HAWKS" chant for the first time in franchise history, don't talk over that with an announcement about the post-game autographs. Wait until the cheer has died down. We all know about the autographs.

 

Nice one. your making it hard to build a rivalry....wait you still have schwietzer right in all seriousness, thanks for your generosity. It was a tragic loss and will effect the community for sometime.