First off let me state that I'm writing this article close to midnight, so please forgive me if it's incoherent or you see a long line of "zzzzzzzz's" in it.
I had a feeling that the game was going to be an interesting one when, in the sixth minute of play a cross by Pittsburgh's Gary DePalma to Thiago Martins nearly squirted past Charlotte Goaltender Trevor Upton, who was only making his fifth appearance between the pipes for the Eagles. This set the tone for the game, both teams getting plenty of chances with a bad bounce or lucky break being the deciding factor.
Literally a few minutes after that, Thiago Martins was taken down in the box by Upton going for a loose ball. On the resulting PK, Martins tries a stutter step move that allows Upton to come off his line, cut down the angle and block the shot. Remember this PK in the ninth minute, for it will come back to haunt the Hounds.
At the 12th minute mark Pittsburgh would earn a spot on the scoreboard, but even that goal seemed to have a bit of oddness to it. Martins took the original shot and it was either deflected to or shot at Corey Woolfolk, who redirected it past a diving Upton for the goal.
Charlotte's first attempt at the net would come in the 20h minute of play when an unknown player popped a header into the waiting arms of Dedini. Two minutes to the very second Charlotte ties up the game with a beautiful goal by Jose Gomez.
Ten minutes later Charlotte's back in the game with a fading header off of a cross by Mark Pinch gives Josh Rife a goal.
Going into the half, Charlotte appeared to be the better organized of the two teams and a bit more creative. Pittsburgh's game plan seemed to simply play the long ball over the top and let Martins run onto it. Frankly the Eagles were playing better than there would indicate.
In the second half, it was obvious that Pittsburgh needed to make some adjustments. They nearly gave up a third goal in the 50th minute of play when a loose ball in the box led to an all out scramble. Charlotte however was called for a foul and this prevented any true scoring chances.
Pittsburgh started to push forward and in the 55th minute Martins cranked a shot up from twenty yards out which Upton bobbled but held on to. Pittsburgh was able to string together six or seven passes in the midfield and spread out the Eagles defense. Aleksey Korol, who was subbed in for Corey Woolfolk in the 51st minute, was able to beat his defender Jonah Long and sent a cross into the box. Martins was able to head the ball home through the spread legs of Upton and the game was tied.
Here is where things started to get interesting and the missed penalty kick became a huge factor. In the 65th minute of play, Randy Dedini pulled down Charlotte's Dustin Swinehart in the box as he broke in on the far side. Although it was a questionable call, the referee - David Simon - pointed to the spot. Dedini originally saved Swinehart's hard shot but the ball rebounded back out.
Dedini admitted that he wasn't sure what happened next and that he had to ask Dustin Swinehart what happened. Ricardo Villar said it reminded him of "an electronic pinball game".
After the ball was saved by Dedini it bounced back out into the box, in the scramble a Hounds player - Brent Jacquette - tried to kick it over the endline, it either hit a player and was deflected off the goalpost or the attempt was off target. In either case the ball rebounded back onto the foot of Swinehart who easily sent it past Dedini. Dedini had a Charlotte player under him at the time and admitted that he wasn't so sure if he could have gotten to the shot anyway.
Dustin Swinehart was accredited with an unassisted goal. Tim Carter, coach of the Hounds, simply said it was a "fluke goal." "It's very frustrating when you have a defender get to the ball first and you can't clear it out." Dedini said.
Trying to get the equalizer Pittsburgh pushed forward. In the 73rd minute a corner kick would find Villar's head, his header however was cleared off the line by the Eagles Defense. A minute later a shot by Martins would result in some confusion as it was unclear if the whole ball crossed the goal line or not. Credit should go to Upton however for a great save.
Pittsburgh was still in the game up till the 75th minute, Dustin Swinehart playing as the Eagles lone forward would break the hearts of the 2,802 in attendance by beating not one but three defenders and toe poking the ball into the far corner of the net. "There is no excuse for that at this level." Dedini said with a touch of anger in his voice.
After the game Villar had this to say "We talked about this being a must win game, so there is no excuse for how we played. I'm embarrassed and I think the other guys are embarrassed as well. I just hope the fans don't lose hope in the team."
This is one fan that won't lose hope. To coin a phrase "You gotta believe."
Substitutions time Player in Player out
Pittsburgh 51st minute Korol Woolfolk
Pittsburgh 54th minute Tripoli DePalma
Charlotte 56th minute Johnson Long
Charlotte 69th minute Coggins Paul
Pittsburgh 76th minute Dolinsky Chulis
Pittsburgh 82nd minute Flavius Worthen
Charlotte 85th minute Allen Gomez
Cautions/Ejection
Charlotte Paul 18th minute Yellow Unsporting
Pittsburgh Potteinger 24th Yellow Unsporting
Pittsburgh Worthen 54th Yellow Unsporting
Pittsburgh Villar 68th Yellow Dangerous
Charlotte Coggins 72nd Red Dangerous
Pittsburgh Wright 72nd Red Unsporting
Pittsburgh Dolinsky 90th Yellow Unsporting
A brief word about David Simon the referee for tonight's match. I don't think he did a great job but it was not as bad as some would lead you to believe. Both teams were taking cheap shots and dives were commonplace. Simon however did not seem to understand the concept of "advantage" which broke up at least three attacks by Pittsburgh.
