The 2022 campaign got off to a chippy start in Chattanooga Saturday night, with goals traded between both sides in what ended up being a quite physical affair. Most Madison fans unable to make the trip watched from home or at The Flock’s watch party at the Brass Ring in downtown Madison, and were treated to more lens flares and close shaky camera work than a JJ Abrams film. I can’t rag too much on the camera angle at CHI Memorial Stadium, since the setup at Breese for most of the first three seasons was fairly similar. With that being said, we’re comparing Breese’s press box platform (built in 1939, the first year sport was broadcast) with a brand new stadium, and it’s wild to me that a club would build a new grounds without an optimal broadcast setup in mind.
The Lineup
It was a surprise to see Mitch Osmond’s name in the starting XI after not featuring for the Flamingos in preseason, but a welcome one as he adds a wealth of experience to the team sheet. Other notable surprises and changes from the usual preseason lineups were seeing Jeremiah Streng and Alann Torres on the bench, as well as Cassini and Bartman also on the bench to start. I assumed the omissions of the latter two had more to do with rotation, being we’ve an Open Cup game on Wednesday, especially with the positive preseason both Matheus and Nazeem have had. Madison played what looked like a shifting 3-4-3 / 4-3-3 (below is the approximate formation from the league website).
Former Flamingo Brian Bement started for the Red Wolves, and looked a much-improved version of the player we saw in 2019, proving wrong what many people have to say about the quality of play in NISA. Rey Ortiz started as expected and was involved heavily in Chattanooga’s high press and attack, as did Jimmie Villalobos and Rafa Mentzingen, both of whom had standout games.
Match Recap
Overall it was a fairly end to end affair, even with the Red Wolves’ intense high press. Madison played a high line all game, getting caught out a few times but thankfully Red Wolves were unable to capitalize. This in large part was due to the hustle and physicality of Madison’s back three of Murillo, Leonard, and Osmond. The game was a physical one from the start, with many players going down in the box in attempts to win penalties. Fortunately the head ref saw through it, one of the only consistent things we saw from him all evening.
Audi Jepson was the first with a penalty shout in the third minute, which was quickly waved off by the referee. Red Wolves would win a free kick in the eighth minute, but ended up putting it wide right of goal. Madison would later be awarded a free kick in the tenth minute, Christian Enriquez’ effort being blocked by the wall. Both teams were awarded multiple free kicks on the night, and Chattanooga would end up with six corners to Madison’s one. Just before the eleventh minute Mentzingen puts a shot wide after breaking, and probably could have kept running at goal and been 1v2 vs Breno and Leonard but shot wide from just outside the eighteen yard box.
Play stopped for two and a half minutes in the eleventh minute as Abdou was hit in the head by the ball and needed treatment, a stoppage which was only partially made up at the end of the half. Breno would make an absolutely crucial save in the 20th minute to deny an Ortiz volley from a corner. Fifteen minutes later, Espana found Ortiz through on goal 1v1 with Breno but was waved offside. In the 38th minute Mikey Maldonado is fouled forty yards out, Audi takes the Free kick which eventually falls to Abdou who ends up being denied twice, once with each foot.
The last real action of the first half came in the fourtieth minute and resulted in Chattanooga’s only goal. Mentzingen plays the ball in from the right flank and deflects a cross off Murillo, which takes a bounce and finds an on-rushing Villalobos who chips it on the half volley. To Jimmie’s credit, he could have easily blasted it over the bar but weighted his strike gingerly and the Madison players trying to put something to it were caught watching the ball sail over the head of Phil Breno and into the back of the net.
Glaeser would make two changes at the interval, opting for the fresh legs of Nazeem and Cassini for Rojay and Audi. Play starts much more aggressively in the second half, with the first booking coming to Murillo for a late challenge on Mentzingen in the 47th minute. Bement hit a close-range shot in the 51st, forcing Breno to make a massive kick save with the inside of his left shin. Osmond’s long-range distribution was noticeably better in second half, sending multiple diagonal aerial balls using the full width of pitch.
Phil would have a massive save in the 54th minute, when Red Wolves high press won the ball in the middle third and Villalobos ran away with a 1v1 break, forcing an incredible foot save from Breno which pushed the shot just wide of the post. When I rewatched the match I slowed down the video and you can barely catch the ball glance off the toes of Phil’s left boot, just a ridiculous save from the big man.
Cassini’s creativity and ability to find space added a different dimension to Madison’s attack in the second half. For me, this was most notably drawing away defenders before setting up a shot from distance for Bartman at the edge of Red Wolves’ eighteen yard box just inside the 62nd minute. Gebhard found himself in the book in the 68th minute for pulling Mentzingen down from behind, a definite professional foul as the Red Wolves man would have been away with plenty of space in front of him.
Justin Sukow was subbed on for Derek Gebhard in the 71st minute, just minutes before the Red Wolves announced a “sellout” crowd of 2618 in attendance. For those of you stats people out there, CHI Memorial Stadium’s capacity is 5500 and it was quite clear to anyone watching the stream that the stadium was half full, so I’m not quite sure who the Red Wolves front office thinks they’re fooling.
The Finnish loanee Jeremiah Streng made his first appearance for the club as he came on for Christian Enriquez at the 77 minute mark, receiving his first touches just a minute later. Streng definitely looked like a player short of full match fitness, but the Red Wolves back line still found it difficult to muscle him off the ball. Around the 80th minute, many Chattanooga players start to deal with cramps and fatigue, which had to come as a welcome sign to Madison players who’d dealt with their incessant press all game long.
Brian Bement was lucky to not receive a second yellow in the 86th minute for a retaliatory challenge on Murillo, an event which surely would have put Madison level earlier. There was a fair amount of pleading to the ref from Red Wolves players all game, including manager Jimmy Obleda multiple times to 4th official, completely outside of his own technical area. In fairness, if they can’t be bothered to paint their technical area onto the pitch, maybe it’s difficult to penalize coaches for venturing outside it.
Madison’s equalizer would come in the fifth and final minute of stoppage time, Cesar Murillo strips the ball off Espinoza, who is streaming down the right flank, AWO picks up the loose ball and takes a few touches before providing an incisive through ball to Cassini near the edge of the Flamingos’ third. Matheus cuts in to the left and chips it around the halfway line up to Abdou who receives it on the right flank, just at the edge of the final third. AWO somehow has transported himself Nightcrawler-style on the overlap {BAMF}, Abdou sees him reappear from the Brimstone Dimension and lays it off, allowing AWO to dribble the ball into the Red Wolves box.
AWO dishes the ball to Streng near the penalty spot, who pirhouettes like a massive Finnish ballerina and nearly fumbles possession but holds up the ball just long enough for none other than preseason hitman Nazeem Bartman, who emphatically pounds it through the head of a Red Wolves player attempting a goal line clearance. Tie game, and I’m screaming and jumping up and down in my home office, pumping my fists like we just won the World Cup. Points saved, and a hard fought draw on the road after trailing for 55 minutes. If that’s not mental strength showing through, I’m the King of England.
Noteable Notes From Matchday 1:
Red Wolves
- Jimmie Villalobos is quite the player, fitting for a guy whose last name means “house of the wolves”
- Mentzingen’s press and liveliness was trouble for Madison’s focus all game
- Bement looks an improved attacking threat over 2019, he’s going to be a good option for them up front all season
FMFC
- Osmond’s physicality was encouraging to see, when Bement and other attackers would try the same physical play with him as with Leonard or even Murillo, he kept his composure and form.
- Abdou frequently beats the first man but needs more help up in front of goal. I’d like to see him start with Streng and Cassini and see how those partnerships develop.
- AWO technical, intelligent – played diagonal aerial passes but almost always to players in space
- Eric Leonard channeling Roy Kent
- Cassini able to find space with footwork, one of the few on FMFC who were able to do this consistently
- Streng does what he was brought in to do (hold the ball up in front of goal), Red Wolves were unable to muscle him around
- Passing needs to be crisper, working the formation, and intentional
- (In fairness to Leonard and Osmond, they managed 86% and 85% passing all evening, respectively. Great job to those boys.)
Overall
Madison struggled much of the first half due to the combination of a high press from Red Wolves and a seeming lack of intentionality. We turned the ball over cheaply; there were way too many long aerial balls and multiple long throw-ins, hard touches on tackles squandering possession (also: unnecessary one-touch passes). We stood back and didn’t take the game to them, which is the opposite of what we saw for much of preseason. It felt like shades of last season if I’m being honest, and it’s far from the gritty, direct attacking identity Glaeser talked about leading into this game.
But that being said, this team showed a lot of heart to claw their way back into the game to get a result. Drawing at the last gasp may have been the meme of last season, but like this team, I never lost hope we’d get an equalizer eventually. They didn’t let their heads drop, and there were plenty of positives to take from a very early game against a very good Red Wolves side. On to Wednesday and Cleveland SC.
