Angels 3 City 1
If it’s any consolation for Red Deer City, the Alberta Major Women’s Soccer League squad is at least competitive in the 2011 season.
But then again, that is small consolation for City and head coach Dave McCarthy, whose squad fell 3-1 to the Edmonton Angels Sunday at Great Chief Park, just two days after a 1-0 loss to the Calgary Alliance which was the club’s third consecutive one-goal setback.
The Red Deer team was in Sunday’s game until the 88th minute, when Lindsay Boland stepped around keeper Sierra Bonham and sealed the deal for the visitors.
“Today was disappointing. We ran out of legs toward the end of the game,” said McCarthy, in reference to his team’s inability to mount an attack in the late stages.
“We came out in the second half and looked really strong in that first 20 minutes. We looked like we might go on to score and maybe go on to win the game, but as the game faded on the girls . . . I think the heat played a factor, but we’re not making excuses. At the end of the day we just weren’t able to execute the chances we had.”
Rachel Gaudry connected late in the first half, but that was it for the City attack which has struggled on a consistent basis all season.
“Defensively we’ve been pretty solid and strong throughout the season, but from an attacking standpoint . . . yeah, we are short of goals on this team for sure,” said McCarthy.
City fell to one win, six losses and two ties for the season, leaving their playoff hopes in serious jeopardy.
“It seems pretty much a long shot at this point to make provincials,” said McCarthy. “But we put our overall goals in terms of how we play and the performance. It’s more of a long-term project than a short-term project.
“If it turned out at the end of day that we were able to make provincials, that would be fantastic . . . more of a bonus. But as long as we can stick to our principles I think we’ll have success in years to come.”
So, this year isn’t even about this year. It’s about improving each and every game and building a solid base from which to choose players.
“We have to get buy-in from the players to kind of execute the game plan and for us to continue to work with the club and develop more players,” said McCarthy. “The big issue for us at this level is we don’t have as much depth as some of the other teams, so when we get to the last 15 to 20 minutes of the game . . . when other teams can turn to their bench we don’t have as much depth in terms of a larger squad. That’s hopefully something that will come as the years go by.”
gmeachem@www.reddeeradvocate.com