Match Recap: Huntsville City FC, Carolina Core FC play out 0-0 draw, Huntsville wins shootout
In a fixture that perhaps went a bit under-the-radar with first team Nashville preparing to play Charlotte FC at the same time, Huntsville City FC also had an opponent from the state of North Carolina on their hands, as they were in High Point taking on Carolina Core FC.
Let’s get into it.
Lineup
It was a sixth game in a row with a change in goal, this time Xavier Valdez got the run, with a first start for Kessy Coulibaly alongside Blake Bowen, Tyshawn Rose, and Zach Barrett ahead of Valdez.
In midfield it was once again Pep Casas and Ethan O’Brien, and that double pivot supported a front four of Alan Carleton, Real Gill, Christian Koffi and Gunnar Studenhofft.
Off the bench, Kevin Carmichael, Jordan Knight, Damien Barker John, Adem Sipic and Philip Mayaka also made appearances.
The Numbers
Huntsville City FC
Shots: 7
Shots on goal: 1
Corners: 3
Possession: 65%
Yellow Cards: 2 (Christian Koffi, Ethan O’Brien)
Red Cards: 1 (Christian Koffi)
Carolina Core FC
Shots: 11
Shots on goal: 2
Possession: 35%
Corners: 1
Yellow Cards: 3 (Facundo Canete, Anthony Sumo Jr., Josuha Rodriguez)
Red Cards: None
Analysis
Let’s face it, you don’t want to read a Between the Whistles that describes 90 minutes of bad, wasteful soccer. Huntsville had the ball a lot and couldn’t do all that much with it, Carolina created more chances but couldn’t threaten goal, it just wasn’t a good game to be a spectator for. That’s fine. What matters is Huntsville picked up the extra point.
In the shootout, Carolina Core’s goalkeeper Alex Sutton stepped up first and missed the target. This set Huntsville on the right foot, and that continued. Ibrahim Covi also missed the target for Carolina, which made Ethan O’Brien’s saved penalty largely meaningless. Damien Barker John and Zach Barrett had already made theirs, so it kept Huntsville in the lead.
Two more makes, including one for Adem Sipic in Blue, put all the pressure on Facundo Canete to keep his Carolina Core alive, but Xavier Valdez had other ideas, making the save and giving Huntsville the extra point.
That extra point is crucial, because it sets up a heavyweight bout in the Rocket City on May 17th. Chattanooga FC is coming to town, and they sit first in the Eastern Conference on 21 points. Huntsville sits second in the East (!) on 16 points, and will look to draw closer to the club from the Scenic City.
We’ll have more later this week, see you then!