The old adage that patience is a virtue was put to the test this past weekend in sporting terms, and was proven to be true, as the Concordia men’s soccer team rallied for two late goals to beat the University of Montreal 3-1 at Concordia Stadium this past Sunday.
The Stingers had to overcome some adversity to put this game away, starting with the loss of last year’s starting keeper, Richard Green. Green separated his shoulder over the weekend, and was unable to play.
The home team fell behind early when U of M capitalized on a Con U defensive lapse, leaving the opposing striker one-on-one with the Concordia goalie, for an easy goal.
With the edge in ball possession, Concordia was able to stay calm and control the tempo, creating many opportunities to get the equalizer, but suffered from an inability to finish.
At the 28-minute mark of the first half, a scramble ensued when the ball was crossed into Montreal’s crease.
Concordia was pressing, and the ball popped loose in a crowd of players. As the away team’s defense tried frantically to ease the pressure, Concordia was finally able to put the ball in the net when Jean-Philippe Julien blocked a clearing attempt, which deflected into the net.
It seemed that things had swayed the Stingers’ way, when more bad luck befell them. Mehdi Mourali, one of the few returning players from last year, was injured with 10 minutes left in the first half, when an opposing player used his cleats as a weapon.
The second half began on a sour note, as Stinger team captain Frank Pons was tackled from behind.
The U of M forward who committed the foul was given a red card, and ejected from the game. Pons was able to shake it off and keep playing.
The second half continued in much the same way as the first, with ball
possession leaning Concordia’s way. They were able to switch the play whenever necessary, but still had some hard luck when it came to putting the ball in the net.
This is somewhat expected in a season opener for any team, especially when you have a lot of new players in the starting lineup.
Despite this, the Stingers kept patient, waiting for their opportunities instead of forcing them.
And an opportunity to score came with only seven minutes left.
The play was switched from right to left, springing forward Ammar Bedawieh down the wing.
Three defenders were separating Bedawieh from the goal, and with a little shake-n-bake, he passed all three and buried the ball into the back of the net.
In injury time, Bedawieh scored his second of the game as he danced around a sprawled goaltender, and flicked the ball into the waiting mesh. The play was made possible when mid-fielder Xavier Renard challenged hard for the ball, sending Bedawieh into the clear.
The Stingers seemed pleased with the effort.
“They played hard, but we played harder,” said Bedawieh. “We were able to spread out the offense, taking the ball to the outside which freed up some room for the forwards.”
The Stingers’ star, however, does believe there is a lot of room for
improvement.
“We have to work on our conditioning a bit more, and we have to get to know each other better, but it was a good first game,” he said.
The Stingers’ next games are Friday night at UQAM, 9 pm, and Sunday at home against Laval, 3 pm.
The Stingers had to overcome some adversity to put this game away, starting with the loss of last year’s starting keeper, Richard Green. Green separated his shoulder over the weekend, and was unable to play.
The home team fell behind early when U of M capitalized on a Con U defensive lapse, leaving the opposing striker one-on-one with the Concordia goalie, for an easy goal.
With the edge in ball possession, Concordia was able to stay calm and control the tempo, creating many opportunities to get the equalizer, but suffered from an inability to finish.
At the 28-minute mark of the first half, a scramble ensued when the ball was crossed into Montreal’s crease.
Concordia was pressing, and the ball popped loose in a crowd of players. As the away team’s defense tried frantically to ease the pressure, Concordia was finally able to put the ball in the net when Jean-Philippe Julien blocked a clearing attempt, which deflected into the net.
It seemed that things had swayed the Stingers’ way, when more bad luck befell them. Mehdi Mourali, one of the few returning players from last year, was injured with 10 minutes left in the first half, when an opposing player used his cleats as a weapon.
The second half began on a sour note, as Stinger team captain Frank Pons was tackled from behind.
The U of M forward who committed the foul was given a red card, and ejected from the game. Pons was able to shake it off and keep playing.
The second half continued in much the same way as the first, with ball
possession leaning Concordia’s way. They were able to switch the play whenever necessary, but still had some hard luck when it came to putting the ball in the net.
This is somewhat expected in a season opener for any team, especially when you have a lot of new players in the starting lineup.
Despite this, the Stingers kept patient, waiting for their opportunities instead of forcing them.
And an opportunity to score came with only seven minutes left.
The play was switched from right to left, springing forward Ammar Bedawieh down the wing.
Three defenders were separating Bedawieh from the goal, and with a little shake-n-bake, he passed all three and buried the ball into the back of the net.
In injury time, Bedawieh scored his second of the game as he danced around a sprawled goaltender, and flicked the ball into the waiting mesh. The play was made possible when mid-fielder Xavier Renard challenged hard for the ball, sending Bedawieh into the clear.
The Stingers seemed pleased with the effort.
“They played hard, but we played harder,” said Bedawieh. “We were able to spread out the offense, taking the ball to the outside which freed up some room for the forwards.”
The Stingers’ star, however, does believe there is a lot of room for
improvement.
“We have to work on our conditioning a bit more, and we have to get to know each other better, but it was a good first game,” he said.
The Stingers’ next games are Friday night at UQAM, 9 pm, and Sunday at home against Laval, 3 pm.
Comments are closed.