BAYAMÓN, PUERTO RICO – There were no championships on the line Tuesday night, but it was the Puerto Rico defense that caused the RailHawks a 2-0 defeat at Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium.
Puerto Rico defenders Cristian Arrieta and John Krause scored the two goals, and
«At the start of the season, our goal was to finish in the top three,» said Carolina coach Martin Rennie. «I think our expectations are higher now, so it’s really hard any time we lose. But our goal was to finish in the top three. Ultimately, whether it’s a good season a great one will depend on what we do from now.»
Rennie observed the match from the stands as he was serving his one-match suspension following his ejection from last week’s match in Montreal. Assistant coach Brian Irvine handled the in-game management.
The match was even throughout and a scoreless draw seemed a fair and inevitable conclusion after the teams played each other so closely. But the match turned against the RailHawks (14-7-7) in the 75th minute when the Islanders (14-5-8) were awarded a penalty
The Islanders put the game away six minutes later, when Krause headed in Jonny Steele’s corner kick at the back post.
Carolina spent much of the night on the ball and attacking, but for the second straight match, that didn’t translate into any goals.
«We need to improve on our finishing,» Rennie said. «The last two games we have had a lot of chances, a lot of the ball, so there’s a key thing we have to improve on. Early on, we were passing a bit better than we are now. Next game, we’ve got to focus on that and on playing at a good tempo and a good pace.
In the 28th minute, Puerto Rico gave away the ball just outside its area and Gavin Glinton broke in on goal, but Gaudette came out and cleared the ball away.
In first-half stoppage time, Daniel Paladini had a look from just more than 20 yards, but Gaudette dove to make the save.
In the 62nd minute, Luke Kreamalmeyer created a shot for himself at the near post, but Gaudette went down and turned him away.
In the 68th minute, five minutes after stepping on the field, Andriy Budnyy flung a low shot on goal, but again, Gaudette was there to keep it out of the net.
While the match’s complexion changed on a Puerto Rico PK, Carolina felt it deserved won nearly 20 minutes earlier. In the 58th minute, Kreamalmeyer beat his defender out wide and cut toward goal from the left flank. As he tried to separate from his man, he was tackled from behind. Not getting that call hurt, and it took on added significance when just more than 15 minutes later, the Islanders received a PK one and took control of the match.
With Tuesday’s defeat, the RailHawks have lost all four times they’ve gone to Puerto Rico, and they fell to 0-6-1 all-time against the Islanders.
The RailHawks can reclaim second place – and their first-ever win over the Islanders – later this week. The teams will meet for the third and final team of the season on Saturday at 7 p.m. at WakeMed Soccer Park.
Said Rennie, «We’ve just got to dust ourselves off and move forward.»
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