Most coaches would feel that a 4-1 loss is not a great result but Red Deer City FC women’s soccer coach, Chris Keem said his team played very well despite the score.
Red Deer hosted the Calgary Callies, one of the best teams in the Alberta Major Soccer League at Great Chief Park, Saturday.
“They are a difficult team to play as most of them play for the University of Calgary,” said Keem. “They are the best of the three Calgary teams.”
Red Deer has been getting better every week and it showed against the Callies. Red Deer was down 1-0 as the first half started to wind down but a two minute lull in the home squad’s defense resulted in two quick goals for the visitors.
Red Deer did come out strong to start the second half as Claire Wallace scored on a nice kick deflection off a free kick that reduced the score to 3-1. Calgary did get one back halfway through the second frame to put their lead back at three which was how the game ended.
“They didn’t open us up too much but they did keep possession for a lot of the game,” said Keem. “We had our two minutes of stupidity there at the end of the first half and that put the game out of reach for us.”
Keem was happy about his team’s play, especially in the second half by holding such a strong team to a 1-1 draw. He feels his team is getting better each week as it is the third game in a row that they have seen better results than what happened in their first four games of the season.
“We are getting there,” said Keem. “The first four games we were outscored 31-0 now we lose 4-1 and had some chances to put a couple more in. We are down to an average of four goals against so that is a big difference.”
What hasn’t helped the team is a rash of injuries that have hit including to one of their starting forwards which reduces a lot of speed for them up front.
“We do have one of our injured players coming back next week that should help,” said Keem. “The girls we have playing forward are usually midfielders and we don’t have a threat to stretch out other teams as we have a lack of speed.”
The positives he has seen from his team is the growing strength on defense. They aren’t giving up any breakaways and have been better at communicating. They have been working hard on passing which has been able to reduce the amount of turnovers and produce a more balanced attack, said Keem.
The team is now at the halfway point in the season and despite not having a win Keem is optimistic they are ready to get a couple as they move forward.
“We are growing but it is not going to come overnight,” said Keem. “ We are not going to be in first place this year but (the team) is working hard and we are getting there.”
Red Deer City FC will host Edmonton Victoria, last seasons champions, Friday starting at 7:30 p.m. at Great Chief Park. They will then hit the road next Sunday to play the Calgary Saints.