League

Conneaut
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Reuben McCollum kicked off to start the match. When Ricardo Gilliam came up free with the goalie in the 3rd minute, the Gaffney FC fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Ricardo Gilliam couldn't finish the play. 6 minutes into the match, Reuben McCollum had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of J.C. Mendoza. Conneaut's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Reuben McCollum was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-1. When Ricardo Gilliam came up free with the goalie in the 12th minute, the Gaffney FC fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Ricardo Gilliam couldn't finish the play. When the match clock showed 14 minutes, the score became 0-2 when Reuben McCollum sped through Conneaut's defense and sent away a curving shot that went into the net to the right of J.C. Mendoza. J.C. Mendoza showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Reuben McCollum, who was totally free with the ball in the 21st minute. Ricardo Gilliam sent away a hard shot on goal in the 24th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. J.C. Mendoza showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Reuben McCollum in the 25th minute of the match. Korey Vincent's late challenge caught a Gaffney FC's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Korey Vincent helped the player get up and apologised. In the 31st minute, Damian Shapiro hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Conneaut's Korey Vincent got a good chance for a goal in the 38th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. After 40 minutes of play, Gaffney FC's Ricardo Gilliam made it 0-3 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. J.C. Mendoza was left in no man's land by his defense there! Justin Walsh could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 46th minute of the match, but Tyrell Lugo made a huge save. An unexpectedly hard shot by Reuben McCollum in the 47th minute of play forced Conneaut's goalkeeper J.C. Mendoza to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-3 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Emmitt Booth to strike the kick off in the second half. Reuben McCollum's shot straight on target was not completely harmless. The ball had pretty good speed, but J.C. Mendoza firmly grabbed it by the left post. 60 minutes into the match, Conneaut's goal looked a bit too open when Ricardo Gilliam came free, but J.C. Mendoza reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 62ndth minute of the game Korey Vincent who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Gaffney FC's Tyrell Lugo was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Scottie Frey received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 66th minute. J.C. Mendoza tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 68th minute, Parker Schaffer hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Thanks to some nice moves Duane Drake could shoot a difficult shot in the 69th minute, which J.C. Mendoza however easily saved by the left post. If Reuben McCollum had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 70th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After a rather tough play, Gaffney FC's Joaquin West got a free kick in the 72nd minute. An unexpected shot in the 74th minute by Reuben McCollum got the crowd on their feet, but to their dismay it went out on the left side. 80 minutes into the game, Ricardo Gilliam recieved a splendid long ball, split the defenders, and gently placed the ball to the left of J.C. Mendoza. Ricardo Gilliam showed that you don't have to tear a hole in the net to score, 0-4. After a rather tough play, Conneaut's Emmitt Booth got a free kick in the 86th minute. J.C. Mendoza showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Ricardo Gilliam in the 90th minute of the match. Korey Vincent hit a great freekick 92 minutes into the match. After 95 minutes of play, Conneaut's Emmitt Booth made it 1-4 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Tyrell Lugo was left in no man's land by his defense there! When the match was over Gaffney FC could go home with a victory in their luggage, having controlled the game far better than Conneaut throughout the match.