SLOW STARTS AND BAD STRETCHES COST VOYAGEURS IN WEEKEND MATCHES
EDMONTON – On most exams, 70 out of 90 is not ideal but it ain't bad. However, on the soccer field, playing well for 70 minutes is a recipe for trouble. In short, it's ain't good enough to win.
The Portage College Voyageurs have been living that mantra all season. Play well, even dominate for long stretches of a game but then make a costly mistake or start running around in your own zone and turn a comfortable victory into a nailbiter or a tie game into a loss. The tendency reared its ugly head again this past weekend, as the Voyageurs succumbed 2-1 to The King's University Eagles on Saturday and then lost 5-0 to NAIT on Sunday.
"It seems to be our Achilles heel right now, starting slow," said Head Coach Macky Singh. "We've let in pretty much, not all, but in some of the games we've let in goals within the first 10 minutes…We also have another Achilles heel which is in the second half, the last 10 minutes we kinda panic."
On Saturday against the Eagles, the Voyageurs played a strong game but were killed by mistakes early (9th minute) and late (86th minute) to lose a heartbreaker. Taylor Bridger scored his fifth of the season to even the contest early in the second half before a breakdown cost the visitors the match.
"They got a corner and they scored from a mistake from us but that's what it is," said Singh. "We were playing for a point in that game, that was our game plan, and we were pretty close."
On Sunday against a tough NAIT squad, a nine-minute bad stretch in the second half proved costly, as the Ooks scored three times to turn a close game into a comfortable lead.
"We battled hard but they kinda tore us apart completely for about 10 minutes," said Singh. "And then we settled back into the game, and we actually did well after that."
The frustrating part for the players and the coaching staff is they know they are in most games and minus a few mistakes could be better than a 2-4 record at this point of the season. Conversely, they know that if they play a full 90 minutes, they can compete with anyone in the ACAC. It's giving them hope as they prepare for upcoming games against Keyano College and Concordia University of Edmonton September 27 and 28.
"We were pretty close this weekend but we know there are certain areas that we need to fix," said Singh. "But I think it can be done."