The Carolina Railhawks earned a 2-1 win over Minnesota United in the opener of their 10th anniversary season Saturday at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.
However, the Loons, who finished last season as NASL regular season runner up, proved to be a vital test.
Moments after kickoff, United struck first when forward Christian Ramirez smashed home a strong volley inside the game’s third minute.
However, despite falling a goal down within the game’s opening minutes, the Railhawks responded by increasing aggression and applying pressure. They dominated possession, keeping the ball almost entirely on United’s half of the pitch.
“We [got] scored on after 20 seconds and we were 1-0 down,” head coach Colin Clarke said. “It was a great strike by Ramirez, but their response was very good.”
After maintaining control and creating an abundance of goal scoring opportunities inside of United’s 18-yard box, the Railhawks finally broke through in the 13th minute.
Midfielder Tiyi Shipalane flashed home the equalizer, chipping United keeper Sammy Ndjock.
“I was just trying to check in,” Shipalane said. “I saw the goalkeeper out of line [and had to] just make sure I put the chip in the back of the net.”
After levelling the score, the Railhawks continued to surge forward in search of the goal that would give them the lead. They almost found that goal in the games 16th minute when midfielder Nazmi Albadawi maneuvered his way into United’s 6-yard box and provided a shot that beat keeper Sammy Ndjock.
Despite beating Ndjock, his shot didn’t beat the United defense, as defender Kevin Venegas successfully scooped the ball off of the goal line.
Coming inches from breaking the tie only sparked the Railhawks aggression even more.
In the 27th minute, midfielder Austin Da Luz netted the tie-breaking goal, scoring a header off of Kareem Moses’ cross.
“I was delighted with Da Luz’ goal, we’d talked about getting him free far post,” Clarke said. “He’d gotten free two or three times. That was probably the third one that he managed to find the back of the net.”
After gaining the lead for the first time in the match, the Railhawks began to settle back. As a result, possession transitioned United’s way.
However, the Railhawks defense remained mostly immaculate and United only created one or two goal scoring opportunities prior to the half-time whistle, none of which really tested keeper Akira Fitzgerald.
The Railhawks entered the locker room up 2-1 at the half.
Entering the second half of play, the game reached a stalemate, in which both sides split possession. However, despite roughly even possession, the Railhawks created the majority of clear goal-scoring opportunities.
“We got 2-1 up, and could’ve put the game away, but that didn’t happen,” Clarke said. “We need to learn to be better in those situations, keep believing in ourselves, pass and move. Then go score the third, fourth and fifth goal.”
However, the relaxed tempo did alter just before stoppage time, when Railhawks defender Simon Mensing was sent off in the 89th minute for a studs up slide tackle.
From that point on, game play for the Railhawks became frantic as United sent its whole team forward desperate to grab the equalizer. However, fortunately for the Railhawks, United failed to produce a solid attempt on frame prior to the final whistle.
After the end of stoppage time, the Railhawks left the pitch with three points.
“Maybe last year we would’ve conceded one, came away 2-2 and felt disappointed, but we didn’t this year,” Clarke said. “Our keeper didn’t have to stand up and make a save in the last 45 minutes. That’s full credit to the back four. In particular, Beckie and Tobin.”
With the many new additions to the Railhawks roster, team depth proved vital today and is likely to be a key part of the team’s future success this season.
“We’ve got depth; we’ve got two players on the bench we feel can come on and contribute as well,” Clarke said. “We’re going to need everybody, you can see that right away. We got a couple of injuries and a red card. [We’re going to need that] depth going into the season. It’s great to be able to look at the bench and see quality there.”
Despite earning an early victory, Clarke looks to improve upon the Railhawks current level of performance.
“I thought we could’ve been quicker on the counter,” Clarke said. “Just some things that we need to learn and just go through for the future. Overall I’m pretty delighted. Great team performance. We’ll get better, fitter and sharper as we move forward.”
Up next, the Railhawks take on Rayo OKC this upcoming Saturday on the road.
