NASL North Carolina FC

RailHawks Fall 1-0 to Stars

Published on April 16, 2010 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
North Carolina FC News Release


CARY, N.C.- It's said in soccer that you can't win a game in the first half, but you can lose one.

The Carolina RailHawks learned that lesson the hard way Friday night, falling 1-0 to Minnesota largely on the strength of an uninspired first half.

"The bottom line is last week we won the game in the first half. This week, we lost it in the first half," said Carolina coach Martin Rennie. "Our first-half performance was nowhere close to the standards we have set, nowhere close to what we would expect. We have to hold our hands up and say, ‘That's not even close to being good enough.' The number of good players we've got and as well as we can play, it just wasn't to that standard. Credit to Minnesota, too. I know how hard it is being a new team. It brings guys together and it gives them something to fight for, and I was quite impressed with the way they played."

Minnesota (1-1-0), a first-year team with a little more than a month of training under their belts, controlled the match's first 30 minutes, pressing high defensively and disabling the RailHawks' attempts to build any sort of attack. The Stars held a commanding 9-5 advantage on shots through 45 minutes.

Though Minnesota was on the ball for much of the first half, it was from a restart that they scored the game's only goal. In the 37th minute, Minnesota's Leilei Gao sent a corner kick into the area. Carolina goalkeeper Eric Reed came off his line and punched away the initial ball, but Minnesota kept it in the area. It eventually fell to Daniel Wasson, and he fired it past Reed to give the Stars a 1-0 lead.

"It happened so quickly, but that guy shouldn't have that much time to bring it down," said Carolina defender Matt Bobo. "The ball bounced, he brought it down, and then he shot it. There's no way he should have that much time in the six-yard box."

Despite the shaky play, the RailHawks (1-1-0) had a number of strong scoring chances throughout the evening, but none ever found the mark. That was in large part due to Minnesota goalkeeper Joe Warren, who made five saves en route to the clean sheet.

"He just stepped up and played well," said Carolina midfielder Josh Gardner. "We tried to test him as much as we could, but he was up to the task. Hats off to him. He kept them in it tonight."

In the ninth minute, after a nice build-up through the middle, Daniel Paladini laid the ball off to Cory Elenio on the right side of the area, and Elenio's shot was saved by Minnesota goalkeeper Joe Warren.

In the 13th minute, Gardner led a counter attack and set Etienne Barbara free. Barbara beat two defenders to the ball, but his left-footed brace went just wide of the frame.

In the 29th minute, Elenio hit Barbara on the back post, but Barbara's header was tipped over the crossbar.

In the 66th minute, Paladini fired a rocket from 25 yards out that looked on its way to the back of the net, but it zoomed past the sprawling Warren and the outside of the post.

The RailHawks nearly salvaged a draw out of the night in the 88th minute. Bobo headed a Gardner cross at the near post from six yards away, but Warren again made a spectacular save.

"I wish I could've gotten more on it," Bobo said. "It got caught up in the lights for a second. I just wanted to get it on frame. It was just a little too soft. I probably should have had that."

The RailHawks step out of league play and will next face the Mexican Olympic National Team on Sunday April 25 at WakeMed Soccer Park. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. They return to league play on May 1, when they will meet the Rochester Rhinos at Marina Auto Stadium in upstate New York. The RailHawks will play their next home league match on Friday, May 14, when they meet the Tampa Bay Rowdies at WakeMed Soccer Park.

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