HU faced off against Inferno at the College of Du Page on May 31st in its third regular season match of the season. HU was playing without two starters and a short bench due to injury and suspension. Nonetheless, the home side came out strong against a formidable Inferno squad in a see saw first half. HU was able to penetrate deep into Inferno's defensive third several times in the opening stanza, yet was unable to create any scoring chance of substance.
It was the visitors who struck first a half hour into the match on a beautifully taken long distance strike that a screened HU keeper could not get to. HU tried to press forward for an equalizer before half, but came up empty. The teams went into halftime with Inferno leading 1-0.
The second half had a promising start for HU after one of Inferno's defenders was red carded twenty minutes in. Hellenic United pressed forward trying for the equalizer, yet it was Inferno that would score just a few minutes later on a counter attack that found HU's defense scrambling. The visitors closed off the scoring five minutes later when they took advantage of an injury to Hellenic United defender Petro Czerniak and made it 3-0.
Despite the loss, HU coach Andy Sotiropoulos was not entirely displeased. "The only difference in this match was conditioning. Inferno had eight players coming off an indoor season with the Chicago Storm. Quite a few of our guys were coming off of a winter of sitting on the couch. We weren't ready for this type of match this early in the season. From a technical/skill standpoint, we can play with anybody in the league. Unfortunately, that isn't always enough, and it wasn't today, particularly in the last half hour. The fact that they scored two goals with a man down speaks for itself. I knew we could play with them on even terms, but that last half hour is what worried me, and unfortunately I was proven right. We had four guys go down with injuries in the critical last twenty minutes when Inferno scored their last two goals to seal the victory. That's a telltale sign of a lack of conditioning. The boys really did a nice job in certain spots in the first half putting good combinations together and penetrating deep into Inferno's defensive third. We just couldn't score. We're simply having trouble being more assertive in the attacking third.
I liked the play of our back four, particularly veteran stalwart Yannie Moraitis and newcomer Petro Czerniak. The youngster (Czerniak) did a hell of a job in his first Major Division match. Most of the opportunities Inferno created came from strikes 20-25 yards out. I'm not too worried when teams shoot the ball from that distance with David (Barszczowski) in goal. He made two spectacular saves today. The first goal was just one of them things. Our defensive midfielder and center back had a momentary lapse in communication that left their midfielder wide open in front of the goal about 25 yards out, and he hit a bullet with some crazy topspin on it. David was screened on the play, and couldn't react properly. Those things happen in soccer.
The second goal was clearly a matter of getting caught without sufficient numbers back on a counter. Even though we were a man up, we needed to play with a little more discipline. This is the second week in a row we've played worse with a numerical advantage. We need to develop the maturity and discipline to better take advantage of those situations. That will come with time. Unfortunately, today it cost us.
The last goal in my mind was trivial, as Petro (Czerniak) had asked me for a change a minute earlier and I didn't get an opportunity to get the substitute on the field. Petro got stuck chasing an attacker with an injured calf on the play.
We'll put this one behind us and concentrate on Wisla. Congratulations to Inferno on a well played match. They're going to win a lot of games in this league."
Game Lineup:
Barszczowski-Abraham, Mahmutovic, Czerniak, Moraitis-Prses, Villanueva, Dautovic, Malkoc-Smjecanin, Litos (Guzina, Nanic, Gezafer, Vranic)