Now Reading
FC Tucson downs Forward Madison in hard-fought match
sports

Note: This story is more than 2 years old.

FC Tucson downs Forward Madison in hard-fought match

Elivelton scores in 3rd straight game; Tucsonenses unbeaten in 3

  • Madison FC forward Wojciech Wojcik battles with FC Tucson center back Niall Logue near the midfield line.
    Josh Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comMadison FC forward Wojciech Wojcik battles with FC Tucson center back Niall Logue near the midfield line.
  • Tucson withstood a late flurry of set pieces from Madison and pulled off a victory at Kino.
    Josh Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comTucson withstood a late flurry of set pieces from Madison and pulled off a victory at Kino.
  • Tucson captain Niall Logue carries the ball out of defense against Madison FC.
    Josh Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comTucson captain Niall Logue carries the ball out of defense against Madison FC.
  • FC Tucson's match against Madison FC at Kino was a tense, physical affair that Tucson edged 2-1.
    Josh Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comFC Tucson's match against Madison FC at Kino was a tense, physical affair that Tucson edged 2-1.
  • Tucson midfielder Esteban Calvo blocks a shot from Madison's Paulo Jr.
    Josh Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comTucson midfielder Esteban Calvo blocks a shot from Madison's Paulo Jr.
  • FC Tucson goalkeeper Amahl Knight claims a corner kick against Madison FC.
    Josh Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comFC Tucson goalkeeper Amahl Knight claims a corner kick against Madison FC.
  • Madison forward Wojciech Wojcik attempts a volley against FC Tucson late in the first half.
    Josh Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comMadison forward Wojciech Wojcik attempts a volley against FC Tucson late in the first half.
  • Tucson's Esteban Calvo in the midfield against Madison.
    Josh Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comTucson's Esteban Calvo in the midfield against Madison.
  • FC Tucson were put to the test repeatedly by set pieces from Madison FC.
    Josh Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comFC Tucson were put to the test repeatedly by set pieces from Madison FC.
  • Madison FC's Jiro Toyama sprints past Tucson forward Azaad Liadi.
    Josh Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comMadison FC's Jiro Toyama sprints past Tucson forward Azaad Liadi.
  • Madison FC forward Paulo Jr. fires in a shot from outside the FC Tucson penalty area.
    Josh Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comMadison FC forward Paulo Jr. fires in a shot from outside the FC Tucson penalty area.
  • FC Tucson midfielder Joshua Coan wins a header in the middle of the park against Madison FC.
    Josh Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comFC Tucson midfielder Joshua Coan wins a header in the middle of the park against Madison FC.
  • Madison's Jiro Toyama saw a lot of the ball in the first half against FC Tucson.
    Josh Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comMadison's Jiro Toyama saw a lot of the ball in the first half against FC Tucson.
  • Madison FC striker Paulo Jr. was a constant threat throughout the first half against FC Tucson.
    Josh Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comMadison FC striker Paulo Jr. was a constant threat throughout the first half against FC Tucson.
  • FC Tucson's Elivelton Oliveira celebrates scoring the opening goal against Madison FC at Kino.
    Josh Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comFC Tucson's Elivelton Oliveira celebrates scoring the opening goal against Madison FC at Kino.
  • FC Tucson's early goal thanks to Elivelton Oliveira was against the run of play in which Tucson had less than 40% of first half possession.
    Josh Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comFC Tucson's early goal thanks to Elivelton Oliveira was against the run of play in which Tucson had less than 40% of first half possession.

After FC Tucson’s win over visiting Forward Madison at Kino North Stadium on Wednesday night, coach John Galas had a simple explanation.

“We scored two goals; they scored one,” he said.

Elivelton made it look that simple three minutes into the first half. The Brazilian midfielder took a quick pass from Derrick Silva at the top of the box and one-touched it into the back of the net.

Niall Logue nearly made it 2 – 0 at the 30-minute mark when he intercepted a clearance at midfield. His shot from over 30 yards out hit the crossbar.

The match was a showcase for two possession-oriented soccer teams, but the action was mainly in each sides’s final third as the ball moved quickly through midfield. As the half wore on, there were fewer moments where FC Tucson had the ball at all and were left scrambling to resist another sustained attack from Madison.

Amal Knight was left to scramble to save the barrage of shots coming his way (he logged nine saves for the evening), so it seemed inevitable when Madison forward Paulo Jr. slipped one past him in the 40th minute.

A more aggressive FC Tucson took the field in the second half. In minute 55, Azaad Liadi found Josh Coan a few yards to the left of Madison’s goal. With the bare minimum of space, he threaded it through the defenders to bring Tucson back the lead.

Despite a desperate second-half flurry, Madison was unable to score. FC Tucson’s win puts them in fifth place and a tantalizingly close 4 points away from the top two slots. Their next game is on Saturday against Orlando City B, a team they scored 4 goals against on August 18.

Frustrations, but can we talk about Elivelton?

It was a win, but there seemed to be an eternity in the first half where no FC Tucson player seemed to be able to touch the ball.

“We were able to absorb a little bit of pressure, but they just kept coming and coming,” said coach John Galas after the match. “It wasn’t fun. We were rattled and didn’t possess the ball well. We weren’t lazy; we were rattled.”

It didn’t take a major tactical shift to change things at the half.

“I just told the guys to not be afraid to play soccer,” he said. “Do what we do well. We have 55% possession over ten games in this league because we are good at it and we got away from that. I don’t want to say we were hiding, but we just weren’t working hard enough to get into areas of the field to break that press and that rhythm.”

Galas had some particular praise for Elivelton, the Brazilian midfielder who, after a relatively quiet early part of the season, has scored in three straight matches.

“The guy is a good pro. He shows up and works hard and trains well,” he said. “Anytime you are getting midfielders scoring goals, it’s a good thing so the load isn’t always on our strikers.”

“He’s a box to box midfielder, creative. To be honest, I didn’t expect him to score two goals with his head,” he added. “He’s in the right places at the right time. He understands the game. He loves to play.”

FC Tucson vs. Forward Madison

Kino North Stadium

Scoring Summary
FCT - Elivelton Oliveira (3’)
MAD - Paulo Jr. (40’)
FCT - Joshua Coan (55’)

Misconduct Summary
MAD - Eric Leonard (caution 68’)
FCT - Azaad Liadi (caution 74’)
MAD - Josiah Trimmingham (caution 90’)

FC Tucson: Amal Knight - Derrick Silva, Niall Logue, Samuel Biek, Esteban Calvo - Elivelton (Raheem Sommersall 80’), Ramone Howell (Roberto Alarcón 67’), Erik Virgen - Giovanni Ramos Godoy (Charlie Booth 90’), Joshua Coan (Manuel Ferriol 67’), Azaad Liadi (Darius Lewis 81’)

Forward Madison FC: Philipp Marceta - Jiro Barriga Toyama (Eli Lockaby 85’), Connor Tobin, Josiah Trimmingham, Christian Diaz - Eric Leonard, Fito Ovalle (Jamael Cox 65’), J.C. Banks (Michael Vang 64’) - Paulo Júnior, Don Smart (Louis Bennett 84’), Wojciech Wójcik (Noah Fuson 78’)

Filed under

sports, soccer, pro, breaking, 1000 px,

— 30 —

Top headlines

Best in Internet Exploder