Miamisburg Vikings

Week 5 for the Vikings was a disappointment.

  The Vikings traveled to Fairborn for their second league game and only game this week.  The starting eleven was Roark in goal, Siroki, Zech, Bussard, and Schacherer in defense Eshbaugh, Affini, Schenck, and Cardenas, at midfield Alsalhi, and Teaney up top. The field was a sloppy one and a little rough at one end so the game was set to be played slow. The Vikings got off to a good start playing their quick passing and possession game. They found out right away that keeping the play to the outside was the best for them. They had several shots on goal but all from distance and none really dangerous in the early part of the first half. The best chance was stopped at midfield when Alsalhi was set to break free and be one on one with the firebird keeper. The Defender took Alsalhi’s jersey in hand and held him up giving the jersey a rip. Coach Randolph asked the Referee for a card thinking it was the last defender but the Ref saw it differently.  The center referee seemed to have an attitude towards the Viking coach’s after a discussion in the JV game and stopped play to give instructions. The coach’s did as asked and agreed to discuss further at halftime. With just 2:26 left in the half Eshbaugh collected the ball from Schenck and blasted a shot past the keeper for a 1-0 lead. Then just 20 seconds later Eshbaugh did it again receiving the ball from Cardenas for a 2-0 lead. With the lead at halftime the Vikings felt very confident and their halftime discussion was mostly about getting a shutout. This did not last long after the second half began, just 1:05 into the half a shot got past Roark and a surprised Viking team had to regroup. Same as the first half the Firebirds used the momentum swing as the Vikings did in the first half to get more pressure on the Vikings. 40 seconds later an easy shot caught Roark of guard and rolled slowly past him into the goal to tie the game.  The Vikings finally gained their focus and began possessing the ball and attempting to get back what they had lost. Fairborn would not go away and had a few opportunities but the Vikings had most of the play. Coach Randolph continued to respectfully question the center Referees calls or lack of and earned a yellow card. He later apologized to his team for having too much focus on the Ref and not enough on his players.   Schacherer took a long range shot and hit the crossbar denying the winning goal. Late in the half Alsalhi earned a penalty kick and stepped up with confidence. The Fairborn keeper guessed the direction correctly and made a great diving save to keep the score tied.  The game ended 2-2 and the Vikings were disappointed in the outcome. This left both teams with a 1-0-1 league record and the only 2 without a loss at this stage. Good games were had by Eshbaugh, Schenck, Cardenas, Alsalhi, Affini, Siroki, Zech, Bussard, and Schacherer.

   The JV won their game 1-0 their record is 3-7-0