The games keep coming as we enter the final stretch of matches. Last night we had a Wednesday night match against Omaha because for some reason, the league can’t get these matches on Saturdays both in Madison or Omaha. Union Omaha was looking to bounce back after seeing their 11 game unbeaten streak end in Richmond last Saturday while Madison looked to pick up three points after a scoreless draw against NCFC the week prior. It was not going to be a high scoring match with both teams having inconsistent attacks while boasting some of the top defenses in the league.
The match started in a tame manner with neither side truly taking chances or being as aggressive as one would expect. Madison had the majority of the possession but most of it was in the back line and midfield. The first good chance happened after 30 minutes as Raiko had to make two important saves in the 32nd and 35th minute. Then Madison had their opportunity in the 37th minute as Cyrus Rad had an opportunity to score from a corner but that attempt went wide while Cassini didn’t have enough on his attempt. Right before halftime, Madison again had a great chance but Rashid Nuhu saved Abdou Mbacke-Thiam’s effort and Nazeem Bartman was unable to get a clean shot on the rebound. As we entered halftime scoreless, both teams could feel like they should have had at least one goal.
The second half began and Madison got what they thought was going to be a breakthrough as Emir Alihodzic got sent off for shoving Mikey Maldanado around the 50th minute. Madison was hoping to have a repeat ending similar to what happened against Northern Colorado but Omaha was still bringing the game to Madison and was keeping a compact defensive structure. Madison went with a triple sub having Alann Torres, Rojay Smith and Jeremiah Streng came on for Mele Temguia, Mbacke-Thiam and Bartman. Omaha would have a corner and after the ball bounces through the box, Corey Hertzog was able to finish the chance continuing Forward Madison’s set piece defending woes. Madison would continue to try and chase an equalizer as Cassini was through on goal but was thwarted by Nuhu. A few aimless crosses and chips led to Madison falling short losing the season series against Omaha and now will rebound with a road match at Greenville.
What did we learn?
- The Unified Special Olympics team also lost last night 2-4. Madison scored early but Omaha took a 2-1 lead going into halftime. Madison equalized but another quick succession of goals led to Omaha’s victory. This was a great match to watch in Madison and I truly hope this continues next season.
- Omaha had previously only scored two goals from set pieces this season, so it seems fitting that they would score the only goal that way down a man. it makes no sense how Madison allowed that goal and why they are so poor at defending it all year. This combined with their ineptitude in the attacking end is having me sitting wondering what the hell are they doing, or not doing, in training.
- Rashid Nuhu is good, it’s annoying
- We saw Cyrus Rad start as a left wing back thus confirming my suspicion that this could be something we see until Alvin Jones returns
- Omaha’s pitch was absolute shit and that can’t continue. Having a small pitch is not ideal but you can make that work, but the turf was something you can’t really excuse. We have seen other teams in a baseball stadium have their pitch be passable so whatever the grounds crew is doing over there, needs to be better. Both keepers were slipping in the same spot and Ryen Jiba had a moment where he lost his footing that could have resulted in an injury. Either find a new stadium or improve the turf quality.
