Sunday, June 2, 2013
DAYTON, Ohio -- Matt Williams earned a shutout as the Dayton Dutch Lions (4-4-2) finished with a 0-0 draw against the Los Angeles Blues (5-5-4) on their home turf. Neither team could capitalize on the numerous opportunities that presented themselves, and when desperation kicked in, Williams and the Dutch Lions defense were there to prevent defeat, keeping Dayton solidly in seventh place in the USL PRO standings.
Facing their former teammate, the formidable George Davis IV, Dayton found itself starting with a slower than usual tempo as the first half opened. Los Angeles burst right out of the gate, playing with a much quicker pace which soon saw the Blues’ Allan Russell firing early efforts high of the goal in the seventh and 16th minutes. Between those two attempts, Blues goalkeeper Mohammad Mohammadi weighed in when Irakli Khutsidze’s corner to just outside the penalty area connected with Shintaro Harada, whose shot went wide of the goal.
Matt Williams kept the the Dutch Lions out of trouble for most of the game with some standout goalkeeping, and his defense had his back. Twenty-five minutes into the game, the Blues’ Shay Spitz had a chance to take the lead as he beat the offside trap and flicked his finish over an advancing Williams, only for Greg Preciado to head the ball away for a corner.
Blues coach Jesus Rico-Sanz started with a second-half substitution, Duach Jock popping in for Spitz. The substitution almost paid immediate dividends, Jock announcing his arrival immediately. His vicious shot on Williams was saved magnificently in the 48th minute, but rolled back out and Jock found it again, forcing Williams into a second standout save to keep the game scoreless. Los Angeles continued with several substitutions, beginning with a 53rd-minute exchange, Aaron Horton coming on for Mehrshad Momeni, and later Juan Perez came on for Chris Cortez, beefing up the Blues' offense.
Davis made his presence felt again in the 56th minute, sending an arching shot on goal which Williams grabbed at the crossbar just as it appeared to soar out of reach. Dutch Lions coach Patrick Bal then made an important change as he brought on Gibson Bardsley for Joey Madigan, and the Dutch Lions began to get back into the game. Bardsley sent a through-ball from the left to the back post to Remco Klaasse, who was closed down by Russell, who tangled him up just enough for Mohammadi to sneak in behind and grab the ball.
Both teams grew frustrated in attack as the game wore on, and both took many wild turns as they found themselves with missed or denied opportunities. An 84th-minute free kick by the Blues’ Russell rocketed from 25 yards out, only for Williams to punch clear as Eli Garner picked up possesion and sprinted down the right side and came close to opening an opportunity, but the Blues’ defense eventually caught him to deny any threat to Mohammedi's goal. A minute later, Dayton’s Tjeerd Westdijk found Klaasse in the middle, who flicked on to Bardsley, whose bicycle kick hit the post. That would prove the final scoring opportunity as the game finished scoreless.
“I think overall, a tie is a fair score for this game," Bal said. "The first half, LA had a little more control then we took over. We were more even in the second half, and for big period of time we were the stronger team. We could have won it at the end with Bardsley hitting it off the post and soon after the chance with the Westdijk layoff, but on the other hand, they could have scored also.”
Next up, the Dayton Dutch face Columbus Crew Reserves at Beavercreek Stadium on Saturday, June 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Dutch Lions then face VSI Tampa Bay FC (5-3-1) on Sunday, June 16 at 6:30 p.m. ET. For season and individual game tickets, visit the Dutch Lions website.