CARY, N.C. – The Carolina RailHawks won their second
straight friendly on Friday, downing the Wilmington Hammerheads 3-0 before a
crowd of 4,136 at WakeMed Soccer Park.
Kupono Low opened the scoring in the 35th
minute, and Daniel Paladini and Brian Plotkin tacked on two more in the second
half.
There was some measure of revenge in the victory for the
RailHawks, who lost to the Hammerheads in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup
on June 16 at WakeMed Soccer Park.
“We came in, had a little bit of a chip on our shoulder
form the last time we faced these guys, so getting an opportunity to come out
and get it so fresh after that last loss, we definitely had a little more
motivation tonight, and I think it showed,” Plotkin said.
Most importantly, though, the RailHawks seem to have rediscovered
their form and made that five-match winless streak a distant memory.
“This is exactly what our coach was asking for,” Paladini
said. “We needed to definitely turn things around and this was the perfect
momentum, the Panama game, the other group of guys played great, and we just
wanted to come and prove that we could do the same thing in this game, and
that's exactly what we did.”
Carolina trialist Gregory Richardson wrought havoc down
the left flank the entire first half, and he helped set up the RailHawks’ first
goal. In the 35th minute, Richardson, after some fancy footwork to
dance by his defender, sent a short cross into the center of the area. Low,
unmarked near the penalty spot, volleyed the ball in.
“He put a great ball in,” Low said. “I hoped to get over
it because it was a little high. I did, I put it on frame and it went in.”
With no substitution limit for the friendly, Carolina
coach Martine Rennie sent on five subs to start the second half. That wave of
fresh legs, coupled with Wilmington’s wariness – they were playing for the
seventh time in 20 days – wrought havoc on the Hammerheads. The RailHawks took
11 shots in the second half to Wilmington’s five.
“I think we kept good
possession of the ball, especially as the game went on,” said Carolina coach
Martin Rennie. “We got better and better at possessing it. That’s what we’ve
been working a lot on, and that’s starting to come together a bit.”
The RailHawks were rock solid defensively for the second
straight match. Of Wilmington’s eight shots, only one of them was on frame, and
Caleb Patterson saved it easily.
The RailHawks nearly went ahead 2-0 in the 55th
minute. Brad Rusin beat Wilmington goalkeeper Kyle Polak to a 50-50 ball in
front of the goal. The ball fell down to John Cunliffe. He hit the ball toward
goal, but it was cleared off the line.
Four minutes later, Cunliffe returned the favor.
Following a Steven Curfman corner kick for Wilmington, Patrick Tate
half-volleyed the ball toward the far post, but Cunliffe had it covered and
cleared it away.
In the 75th minute, Cunliffe sprung Sallieu Bundu
free down the right side. Bundu carried the ball back toward the middle, then
laid the ball off to Paladini on an overlapping run, and he buried the chance
at the far post.
“We had a really good buildup and then I just saw some
space around Bundu,” Paladini said. “He just gave me a perfect ball and I just
slotted it right into the left side of the post.”
Plotkin finished the scoring in the 86th
minute. Paladini cleverly flicked the ball onto Plotkin, and after taking a
couple touches to set up his favored left foot, Plotkin uncorked a 20-yard
blast that snuck by Polak.
The RailHawks will have an eight-day break before
returning to the field. They will next face the Charleston Battery on July 11
at Blackbaud Stadium. The RailHawks play their next match at WakeMed Soccer Park
on July 17 against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Given their form this week, Carolina is eager to continue
their recent run.
“We hit a little bit of a lull, but I think, especially
tonight, we came out and we showed, especially going forward, some creativity
and interchanging of positions and those kinds of things that really offset teams
defensively,” Plotkin said. “So I think we’re getting back in the habits we had
early in the season and you know it’s only going to benefit us as we go into
the next set of the season.”
LINEUPS
WIL: GK Kyle Polak, D Aaron Parker, D Patrick Tate, D
Yeniel Bermudez, D Jeritt Thayer, M Trey Alexander, M Ryan Solle (Brad Acosta,
56th), M Steven Curfman, M Jamie Franks (Chris Murray, 65th),
F Chris Bagley (Mike Walters, 45th), F Tom Heinemann
CAR: GK Caleb Patterson, D Jeremy Tolleson (Tim Regan, 73rd) D Caleb
Norkus, D John Gilkerson, D Brad Rusin, M Amir Lowery, M Kupono Low (Daniel
Paladini, 46th), M Andriy Budnyy (Brian Plotkin, 46th) F
Luke Kreamalmeyer (John Cunliffe, 46th), F Hamed Diallo (Sallieu
Bundu, 46th), F Gregory Richardson (Josh Gardner, 46th)
SCORING
SUMMARY
CAR: Kupono Low (Gregory Richardson), 35th CAR: Daniel Paladini (Sallieu Bundu), 75th
CAR: Brian Plotkin (Daniel Paladini), 86th
