Union Omaha Settle for a Draw in Battle against Forward Madison
August 5, 2024 - United Soccer League One (USL1)
Union Omaha News Release
Papillion, Nebr. - After turning the tables on Forward Madison with a pair of goals midway though the second half, it was former Owl Jacob Crull who struck back to send both teams home with a point apiece.
It's always a hard-fought match-up, and with both teams aiming to regain peak form after letdowns the weekend prior, this was no different. Still, Union may be the more disappointed club after conceding a stoppage-time equalizer that, it turned out, denied them a perch atop the league once again.
"It's a tough one to take, conceding an equalizer so late. We've just got to do a better job of seeing the game out there at the end," said Head Coach Dom Casciato afterwards.
The first half showed little indication of the fireworks that were yet to come. Madison's pressing consistently harassed Union Omaha, forcing them into bad passes and miscommunications that tilted the field towards Omaha's own half. When they did manage to break through, overthought seemed to be the plague they carried. Much like against Chattanooga a week ago, Los Búhos frequently passed up good chances in pursuit of great ones, but none of them quite panned out.
That said, they hit the woodwork not once, but twice in the opening 45. First came Lagos Kunga in the 10th minute, cutting further and further inside until he got a sliver of space to shoot. Only a sliver, mind you, because the ball took a deflection, but that sent it onto the post before spinning out for a corner kick. Much later in the half, Pedro Dolabella saw the seas part for him at the top of the box in transition, but his shot also ricocheted cruelly away.
The halftime break, at first, looked to do more harm than good when Madison came out firing. Just minutes in, Nortei Nortey headed a cross behind him towards the far post, where there were more white shirts than black. Juan Galindrez would blast a volley through Rashid Nuhu's gloves for the opener from there.
Vexation would steadily mount as more fouls and bookings came Omaha's way; the foul total was 8-3 in the first half and looked set to continue that trend early in the second half. The match would end 14-12 in fouls, but it's the nine yellow cards (plus bench bookings) that really exemplify the nature of this match.
Still, the home side took more and more of the ball in search of an equalizer, and it wouldn't be too long in the making. Mechack Jérôme won a towering header at midfield, which led to newcomer Max Schneider marauding through four Madison defenders to lay it out to Joe Gallardo wide. Gallardo took a wonderful first-time whipped cross, and Steevan Dos Santos got real low to head it into the far corner.
Naturally, with all the jawing and taunting in the aftermath of the goal, we saw yellow cards handed out like flyers in Times Square. One to Aarón Gómez, one to Madison's Michael Chilaka, and even yellow shown to Madison's bench.
"I think after going a goal down the response from the guys was excellent," said Casciato. "We created some good chances and deserved to go ahead."
Yeah, spoiler alert, they got a second goal not long after. During a run of play on the right flank, Schneider drifted over to keep the Owls from getting penned in. The German found a pristine pocket of space to not just act as an outlet, but to put in a beautiful cross that picked out the onrushing Pedro Dolabella. With enough space to land a Cessna, the midfielder converted on his own diving header at the back post to put Omaha in front 2-1.
In just over ten minutes after being subbed on, both Max Schneider and Joe Gallardo had assists, and hockey assists on both goals at that.
"I'm just trying to do what a midfielder has to do; win balls and play it forward," said Schneider. "Every minute I get, I'm very thankful for it, and I'm just trying to do my best. I'm happy that today I was successful and I was able to assist and help start the first goal."
Madison was in the midst of throwing the kitchen sink at Omaha to change the momentum, with loads of subs coming in. It took until the clock approached stoppage time that the 'Mingos truly began their push, with a veritable parade of free kicks and corner kicks.
It took time, but the pendulum finally swung all the way back the other direction. A line-breaking pass into the box saw Wolfgang Prentice, who netted the dagger for Madison a month ago, shrug off Luca Mastrantonio to deliver a desperation cross at the byline. The ball made its way to Jake Crull, sneaking in from behind. The former Union Omaha player took a single touch to control the ball before slamming it home and breaking hearts all over Werner Park.
On the balance of the match, a draw may have been the fair result, but it didn't make the late goal any less of a gut punch. Still, after a shaky last few matches, the Owls seem to be getting back into shape, with reinforcements to boot.
Union Omaha has a short week ahead of them, as they'll be traveling all the way out west to take on Central Valley Fuego FC once more in a USL Jägermeister Cup square-off at 9:30pm CT for all the night owls out there. They'll have time to roost after that, though, with their next home matches being a quick-fire doubleheader: August 21st with a friendly against Bellevue University at 6:30pm, and August 24th against Richmond Kickers at 7pm.
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