Anaylsis: In-Depth Look At Game 1 (Video & Key Events)

The Hammerheads had a significant amount of rest between their first and second games, so I can only expect a well-rested and well-prepared team come Friday night.  I just finished watching the game again on usllive.com and there were many things to take away from their performance.

The midfielders and forwards were always moving around, making it very hard for the defense to keep track of them. Our defense remained calm on the ball for the most part and the team really controlled the entire first half without much attack from the Rhinos.  The mids and forwards put constant pressure on the Rhinos back line even when they weren't in possession of the ball, forcing the Rhinos into several turnovers and giveaways.

ANALYSIS ON THE PLAYERS:

Paul Nicholson distributed the ball well, while maintaining the defensive midfielder role for most of the game. Luke Mulholland and Richard Jata looked solid offensively, creating opportunities when they had the ball deep in the oppositions half. Gareth Evans likes to stretch the field with the long ball.  Dylan Riley got forward and made good overlapping runs from time to time. Chirs Spendlove played a full 90 minutes at left back and had a strong showing. Ivan Becerra consistently switched the field and seemed very confident running the back line. Andriy Budnyy struggled to get anything going in the first half, but had a good individual scoring opportunity in the 25th minute and contributed to goal that was eventually called back early in the second half. Manny Guzman and Andres Cuero were quiet offensively, but helped force the Rhinos into committing several mistakes. Brock Duckworth wasn't tested much at all in the first half, but came up big in the second half to preserve the shutout. Alex Grendi looked sharp offensively in the second half and helped create some good scoring opportunities.

I've posted the full game below along with key events and the times in which they occurred.

Key Events - Shots, Saves, Fouls, Cards, Tackles, Free Kicks, Missed Chances, etc.

6:45 - Corner Kick by Richard Jata, Header Shot by Chris Spendlove (Saved by GK)

23:45 - 6 Consecutive passes leading up to an Andres Cuero Shot (Saved by GK) - Excellent long ball by Ivan Becerra opened up the field and allowed the players to get some free space

24:38 - Blocked pass by Andriy Budnyy and a follow-up pass by Cuero sprung Budnyy for a 22-yard shot from the left side that just misses the near post - (low, strong)

32:50 - Foul suffered by Luke Mulholland leading to Free Kick taken by Richard Jata from 30 yards out. Shot sails just wide of the far post - (low, one bounce)

36:40 - Throw-in by Dylan Riley ends up finding the foot of Paul Nicholson, who eventually feeds Richard Jata at the top of the box. Jata cuts back and shoots a bending left-footed Shot to the far post. GK makes a diving save to keep the Hammerheads off the board

41:45 - Dangerous Corner Kick by the Rochester Rhinos eventually cleared away

HALFTIME SUBS: Alex Grendi(IN) - Manny Guzman(OUT)

1:08:45 - Rochester Rhinos Shot On Goal - Great Cross, Weak Header

1:11:10 - Header Clearance by Ivan Becerra, Cleared again by Alex Grendi springs Andriy Budnyy on a nice run up the field. A quick one-two then springs Grendi into the box. His low cross is played perfectly to Luke Mulholland, but Cuero gets in the way of the shot and it hits off his back. Mulholland finishes the ball into the back of the net, but the linesman calls offsides on Cuero. Goal Nullified.

1:12:30 - GOAL - Cross by Dylan Riley just misses the head of Budnyy. Mulholland slides and gathers the ball before the Rochester keep can get to it. Gets up all in one motion and finishes the ball into the back of the net with a strong finish(High, Center). Awesome Celebration!

1:16:15 - CARD - Yellow Card issued to Paul Nicholson for Hard Foul from behind. Smart Foul because it could've led to a goal-scoring opportunity for the Rhinos.

1:23:50 - Shot Attempt near the penalty marker. Big chance and good scoring opportunity for the Rhinos. Shot Saved by Brock Duckworth.

1:44:10 - Dangerous cross sent in from the right side, cleared away nicely by Ivan Becerra

1:51:15 - Another dangerous cross sent in finds the head of a Rochester player just inside the 6-yard box, but Brock Duckworth is there to make a great diving save.

1:52:15 - Hard Shot from the top of the box is saved by Rochester GK (Near post, High)

1:55:10 - Cross sent in finds an open Rochester player who misses wide. Game Over!