With the match near conclusion and South City staring at a 1 point gain in the standings, Omar Perez-Diaz rescued the remaining 2 points for his team with a great indiviual effort as he netted the winning goal 3 minutes from full time to give SSFAC a hard fought 3-2 win over Santa Clara Rovers A.C. on Sunday. South City was not at their usual best, and struggled to gain control of the match, partly because of the brilliant play of the Roevrs goalkeeper, who turned away shot after shot. "I think we got complacent after our first 2 games, especially with the ease in which we won," said defender Scott Ellis. "We are not use to being at the top of the table, and when we thought we were playing another shorthanded team, we played as if going through the motions. We were second to most balls, not communcating well, and giving credit to the other team they played like they wanted it more than we did. We underestimated the opponent and paid a price for it." SSF opened the scoring when Antony Reyes dropped a nice shot over the keeper's reach for a 1-0 lead, but it was short lived as Santa Clara immediately answered with 2 goals within 5 minutes to grab the lead at 2-1. Only a strong run from Fabio Marques working his way into the area, with a resulting take down for a penalty, brought South City even as Jonathan Wong converted the PK for a 2-2 tie at the half. "We upped our tempo and desire in the second half, especially in the defense where we didn't give them a single shot on target the entire half. Our midfield controlled more and we played the way we are capable of. We were able to stop their attacks higher up on the pitch so they couldn't catch us on the break like they did in the 1st half, and credit to Omar for settling the game with an amazing piece of skill for the winning goal." With South City putting on constant pressure in the 2nd half it felt like a matter of time before they could finish the game off, but the Rovers keeper had different ideas as he turned away many of the 17 shots fired by SSF in the half. In the end, Perez-Diaz took charge of the final minutes as he worked his way through the area and got the goalkeeper to commit as he cleverly finished his attempt with the winner. The South City defense stepped up when needed with strong play from Jim Burke & Damian Hites as they supported the line of Ellis, Alvarez, Andreades & Preikschat. The midfield also responded in the 2nd half with Blair Smith, Bobby Quinlan, Howard Choy, Leandro Monteiro, & Ryan Wiegmann denying the Rovers any attempts at coming forward to attack. "I think it was character building for the team," said Ellis, it was a wake up call for sure. We know we are one of the better teams in the league when we play well, but we have to focus on playing at that level of intensity on a regular basis, not just for 45 minutes. We can't be complacent or we will pay the price like we did in the 1st half. We have a really good bunch of guys right now, but we need to remember the lessons we took from this game and start every game like it's a cup final. Our focus needs to be on ourselves making sure we are properly prepared, mentally & physically for a tough opponent this Sunday. We need to play with more hunger & tempo from the kickoff, and maintain it for 90 minutes. Hopefully after a couple of good training session this week, combined with the scare we received yesterday, should give us the focus we need to get an other 3 points. This will be our first game against one of the better teams in the league and we need to make a statement to ourselves and the league that we are a team capable of winning the league.....Oh..and Glory, Glory Tottenham Hotspur!" Now it will be time for SSFAC to put together a complete game in preparation for Club Sport Maritimo next week. If they don't respond to the coming challenge, then the previous scares will become a reality.
With the match near conclusion and South City staring at a 1 point gain in the standings, Omar Perez-Diaz rescued the remaining 2 points for his team with a great indiviual effort as he netted the winning goal 3 minutes from full time to give SSFAC a hard fought 3-2 win over Santa Clara Rovers A.C. on Sunday. South City was not at their usual best, and struggled to gain control of the match, partly because of the brilliant play of the Roevrs goalkeeper, who turned away shot after shot. "I think we got complacent after our first 2 games, especially with the ease in which we won," said defender Scott Ellis. "We are not use to being at the top of the table, and when we thought we were playing another shorthanded team, we played as if going through the motions. We were second to most balls, not communcating well, and giving credit to the other team they played like they wanted it more than we did. We underestimated the opponent and paid a price for it." SSF opened the scoring when Antony Reyes dropped a nice shot over the keeper's reach for a 1-0 lead, but it was short lived as Santa Clara immediately answered with 2 goals within 5 minutes to grab the lead at 2-1. Only a strong run from Fabio Marques working his way into the area, with a resulting take down for a penalty, brought South City even as Jonathan Wong converted the PK for a 2-2 tie at the half. "We upped our tempo and desire in the second half, especially in the defense where we didn't give them a single shot on target the entire half. Our midfield controlled more and we played the way we are capable of. We were able to stop their attacks higher up on the pitch so they couldn't catch us on the break like they did in the 1st half, and credit to Omar for settling the game with an amazing piece of skill for the winning goal." With South City putting on constant pressure in the 2nd half it felt like a matter of time before they could finish the game off, but the Rovers keeper had different ideas as he turned away many of the 17 shots fired by SSF in the half. In the end, Perez-Diaz took charge of the final minutes as he worked his way through the area and got the goalkeeper to commit as he cleverly finished his attempt with the winner. The South City defense stepped up when needed with strong play from Jim Burke & Damian Hites as they supported the line of Ellis, Alvarez, Andreades & Preikschat. The midfield also responded in the 2nd half with Blair Smith, Bobby Quinlan, Howard Choy, Leandro Monteiro, & Ryan Wiegmann denying the Rovers any attempts at coming forward to attack. "I think it was character building for the team," said Ellis, it was a wake up call for sure. We know we are one of the better teams in the league when we play well, but we have to focus on playing at that level of intensity on a regular basis, not just for 45 minutes. We can't be complacent or we will pay the price like we did in the 1st half. We have a really good bunch of guys right now, but we need to remember the lessons we took from this game and start every game like it's a cup final. Our focus needs to be on ourselves making sure we are properly prepared, mentally & physically for a tough opponent this Sunday. We need to play with more hunger & tempo from the kickoff, and maintain it for 90 minutes. Hopefully after a couple of good training session this week, combined with the scare we received yesterday, should give us the focus we need to get an other 3 points. This will be our first game against one of the better teams in the league and we need to make a statement to ourselves and the league that we are a team capable of winning the league.....Oh..and Glory, Glory Tottenham Hotspur!" Now it will be time for SSFAC to put together a complete game in preparation for Club Sport Maritimo next week. If they don't respond to the coming challenge, then the previous scares will become a reality.