By Tom Bry, ACFC
Angel City defeated a tough Zig Zag Jaro team 3-0 on a blustery, dusty night to claim their first league title in only their second campaign. Angel City finished the Spring 09 season with an amazing 37 points claimed out of a possible 42. This sends AC into the post-season seeded first in the playoffs, and their quest for silverware begins in earnest next Tuesday night.
Angel City started off on the front foot with crisp, one-touch passing culminating in Marius Sandvik scoring only 47 seconds after taking the opening kick-off . Brandon Cole fed Marius at the top of the Box and the Norse Hammer unleashed a fine left-footed effort that left the keeper frozen in his tracks.
Angel City continued to dominate possession for the first 10 minutes, but ZZJ found their feet and began to hold more of the ball, forcing Pete Marlenga into an excellent punch from a corner in the 14th minute and a great block by Pete Wasek immediately afterwards. While Zig Zag held more possession, Angel City began playing a counter-attacking game. In the 20th minute Angel City dissected the ZZJ midfield and Ben O’Meara just missed the corner with a rasping shot. In the 29th minute, Angel City nearly doubled the score from a corner kick, but Sheldon Mitchell, who had been subbed in for an ailing Dan Sapienza had his shot blocked and Matt Onheiber’s follow-up effort just missed the ZZJ goal.
Tough defending by a well-organized and motivated Angel City back line kept ZZJ from taking any quality shots on the AC goal, and the half ended with the Blues in front by a score of 1-0.
During the half, the team focused on playing a more composed, more disciplined game and it didn’t take long for Angel City to reap the benefits. At the 51st minute mark, David “Puma” Alarcon rose above the admittedly height-challenged Jaro defense and headed home his fourth goal of the year. Excellent defensive work from Kirby Adams and Marius unlocked Dave Woirhaye, who played in inch-perfect cross in for Alarcon. As in the first half, Zig Zag began to play with more composure and poise after about 10 minutes, earning several free kicks and forcing Pete Marlenga into a sensational point blank save in the 59th minute.
However, Angel City wrested control of the game back from a tiring Jaro side and began to unlock the ZZJ defense with regularity. Ben O’Meara, Marius and Sheldon Mitchell all had chances to increase the AC lead and in the 68th minute Angel City found the back of the net once again. Dave W won a free kick on the right flank, which was played into the box where Matt Onheiber got a touch on the ball before it fell to the feet of Ben O, who made no mistake from eight yards, beating the keeper for the third tally of the night.
It was just desserts for Ben O, who had been menacing the Jaro defense all night, barely missing on four previous occasions. Angel City continued to control the tempo of the game and the defense snuffed out most Jaro counter-attacks before they had a chance to threaten the AC goal. As the game progressed, the frustration and fatigue of Zig Zag began to manifest itself in more physical play, but with AC in front by three goals the officials swallowed the whistle. This lack of protection from the referee had its consequences, as Ben O and coach Alarcon were booked in the final minutes in defense of the increasingly dangerous tackles Zig Zag were making.
After the game I caught up with Dan Stafford, who told me the key to tonight’s win was dominance in the second half. “The other team started to fade… once we got that second goal, they started to feel out of it,” the AC fullback said. “Their attack was more frustrated and unorganized… in the second half we played more confidently."
Angel City will play the fourth place squad -- Zig Zag Jaro -- in semifinal action Tuesday night at Griffith Park with an 8:45 kickoff. The Blue Eagles will face off against FC Perya in the other semi (2nd vs 3rd) before that at 7 PM. Finals and the consolation final take place one week later.
GAME STATS
Goals: Marius Sandvik, David Alarcon, Ben O'Meara
Assists: Brandon Cole, David Woirhaye, Matt Onheiber
Shutout: Peter Marlenga
MVP: Ben Kull
Shots: ACFC (12), ZZJ (4)
Yellow Cards: ACFC (3), ZZJ (3)
Red Cards: ACFC (2), ZZJ (1)
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Glad to see paparazzi Bry was on the case last night and recorded all of the game with detail. He may be getting older but his memory isn't fading folks!
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