Orange County SC got the first half underway during the first Fiesta De Futbol on a clear evening. While the temps cooled, the game heated up, with both sides having good opportunities going forward.
El Paso looked the most dangerous early on, with Salgado and Kiesewetter combining well down the right wing on counterattacks. Fortunately for Orange County, they weren’t able to find the net, with two successive shots rolling just wide of the far post. While their chances came closest to finding the back of the net, the Locomotive did not look the better side in the opening half hour.
Orange County had chances of their own, mostly crosses from wide areas. It took time, but OC continued to pepper the El Paso box with crosses. They broke the deadlock in the 36th minute as Michael Seaton headed home a set piece cross from Harry Forrester.
Harry Forrester has found his form in the last few weeks, turning his team-leading chances created into assists. Photo courtesy of Liza Rosales/Orange County SC.
El Paso had no response and OCSC led at the break, 1-0.
Orange County started the second half well and piled on the pressure. El Paso, limited in possession, was unable to build up a dangerous attack.
Just before the hour mark, Darwin Jones doubled the lead, trapping a ball well and sliding it past Ketterer at the far post.
El Paso then began to show signs of life and began a long spell of possession, testing the Orange County defense repeatedly. Frederik Due continued his run of incredible form, commanding his area and clearing out loose balls to give the entire team a short rest.
Much like the beginning of the match, both teams had chances, but neither could convert and the match finished 2-0.
After the match, Harry Forrester spoke about the recent run of form for OCSC: “It’s so much easier to get results when we’re not trying to chase the game. We’ve done well to work together and it’s made all the difference over the last few weeks.”
Head Coach Braeden Cloutier had similar comments: “It feels good looking at where we are now from the last eight weeks. We’ll enjoy it tonight but we start again tomorrow. From fourth to twelfth is still really tight so we have to keep doing what we’re doing and keep believing.”
Scoring:
36’ Michael Seaton (Harry Forrester)
58’ Darwin Jones (Michael Seaton)
Discipline:
45’ Richie Ryan (yellow)
90’ Chiró N’Toko (yellow)