Midfielder Goran Guzina came off the bench to score two second half goals and newcomer Tim Balatsoukas assisted on Alen Smjecanin's game tying tally in the 92nd minute, as HU rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie section leader Deportivo Meridienne 3-3 at College of Du Page on June 21st. It was HU's fourth tie this year, leaving the Major Division newcomer with seven points total in six matches. HU is tied with Gazelle and FC Steaua for third place in the Blue Section, but has a game in hand on Gazelle and leads Steaua in the tiebreaker.
HU played last years regular season champion on even terms in the first half, but a brilliant long range strike in the 44th minute gave the visitors a 1-0 lead going into halftime. It was the second time this year HU has given up a goal right before halftime.
Meridienne scored another early in the second half and looked set to take three points, but Guzina had other ideas. The HU midfielder scored on a right footed rocket from outside the penalty area to make it 1-2, and then slotted home another a short while later after a brilliant dummy by striker Danilo Acamovic and Jesus Villanueva feed to make it 2-2.
Meridienne reclaimed the lead late in the second half when an HU turnover deep in the visitors defensive third led to a breakaway that was converted for a 2-3 scoreline. Goalkeeper David Barszczowski looked to have made a brilliant save on the low shot, only to see the ball take a crazy hop and elude him.
Just when it looked like HU was going to suffer its second loss of the year at COD, Balatsoukas fed Smjecanin for the game tying goal two minutes into extra time to salvage a point for the home side. Balatsoukas had an excellent outing in his HU debut, while Smjecanin tallied his team leading 8th goal of the season.
Assistant coach Yannie Moraitis (filling in for head coach Andy Sotiropoulos who had a previous family commitment) was pleased with the result and effort:
"I was happy to see the effort. It was terrific to see this team continue to challenge and play hard when we were down.
Alen Malkoc did a great job in keeping the back four organized against one of the best offences in the league. Jovica (Nanic) just keeps doing what he always does, a solid effort.
Neno (Nermin Dautovic) did a great job in making runs out of the back towards the end of the first half and the whole second half. He was solid defensively, also. And Miki (Miralem Mahmutovic) had great concetration today. He didn't make any tactical or physical mistakes.
Our midfield also played well. Zigi (Zekail Gezafer) took on an unfamiliar role as a defensive minded wide midfielder and neutralized the opposing flank midfielder's attack. He turned the game on him by continually getting involved in our offence.
Alen Smjecanin did a great job at defensive midfield when he had to give Firas (Abraham) a break. Firas keeps trucking away and filling those defensive holes in the midfield. He's invaluable.
Goran (Guzina) had an exellent second half. It's always difficult coming of the bench and trying to get into the thick of things, but he did it. And of course, Tim (Balatsoukas) played very well also, both in midfield and in the attack.
Our goals came from posession and good midfield play. We saw that we could score three goals in a single game against a team that had conceded only three all season long.
They all came from a concentrated build up starting deep in our midfield. The frustrating part is that we have to work so much harder than the opposition to score goals. Most of our goals come from possession play and midfield build up. For the most part, our opponents score off of our mistakes and turnovers. All but two goals that we've conceded this year have come directly off of our mistakes and/or turnovers.
I thought it was a good effort by the guys, and with a little luck and better finishing, we could have come away with three points. We definitely had more chances. Nonetheless, Meridienne is an outstanding team-as good a team as we've played all year.
Hopefully, we can get our squad healthy and back to full strength for the second half of the season. Injuries have taken their toll on us. We've been putting a patchwork team out on the pitch from the beginning of the season. It would be nice to see what we could do with a full squad out there."
Barszczowski-Nanic, Dautovic, Mahmutovic, Malkoc-Abraham, Gezafer, Marks, Balatsoukas,-Smjecanin, Acamovic (Guzina, Litos, Villanueva)
Game Summary:
Miralem Mahmutovic 22' Firas Abraham 34' Jesus Villanueva 59' Tim Balatsoukas 72'
1:2 Goran Guzina (unassisted) 2:2 Guzina (Jesus Villanueva) 3:3 Alen Smjecanin (Tim Balatsoukas)