“We lost focus,” lamented defender Enos Osei, as the Stingers were handed a heavy loss at the hands of the Laval Rouge et Or. The Sunday afternoon match at Concordia Stadium officially brings the season to a close.
Concordia started the match well defensively. The team pressured Laval which resulted in a slow offensive game for the visitors and some counterattack opportunities for the Stingers. The good defensive play lasted until the 16th minute when Samuel Georget scored his first of his four goals for the Rouge et Or.
Concordia’s loss to Sherbrooke on Friday night ensured the team would not make the playoffs. This resulted in an uninspired performance on Sunday according to defender Christopher Mirasyedi.
“You don’t play as hard, or you’re not focused until the end, when you know there’s nothing to play for,” he said. “After a couple goals go in, you start to lose focus and start giving up. I think most of us were playing for fun.”
After going down 4-0 two minutes into the second half, Andrew Bryan scored the first goal for the Stingers in the 50th minute. Quick passing and an excellent through ball led the Laval keeper to a failed attempt at reaching the ball, leaving Bryan with an open net and an easy finish.
Their first goal gave the Stingers a shot of energy, as they began playing similarly to what was seen at the beginning of the game.
Only 10 minutes after the first goal, Stingers midfielder Amadou Lam scored from 45 yards out, when his cross from a set piece went untouched and bounced into the top corner of the Rouge et Or net.
The persistent Stingers were reorganized, and assistant coach François Bastien’s encouraging yells were heard from across the field.
Concordia’s hopes for a comeback were smashed when the official awarded Laval with a questionable penalty kick. Georget stepped up and converted the spot kick with ease.
Laval added a few more goals to make the final score 7-2. This was the most amount of goals conceded by the Stingers in one game this season.
Everyone fell silent, as disappointment rang through the players, coaches and fans. Hopes for a comeback were crushed much like hopes for reaching the playoffs were a couple of days earlier. With a majority of the players returning, the team hopes to see better chemistry and consistency lead them to the playoffs.
“We just got to be consistent,” said Bryan. “That’s all it is.”
Concordia officially ends the season with a record of two wins, eight losses and two draws for eight points. This is two points worse than last year’s total of 10.
