“We got into dangerous positions in their half. I thought we built out well and found ourselves in the final third, in their half a lot.” -Hayden Galas, Defender
Lane United FC battled hard this past Thursday at home versus a strong Deportivo Rose City, and ultimately fell short resulting in a 3-0 loss. With one friendly match under their belt, the squad was looking to continue to build on their chemistry and efficiency on the pitch.
Going into this second pre-season friendly, Coach Galas was looking to, “just manage the minutes, because we have Sunday’s game.” Coach Galas commented how during the match, “we rotated a lot of players, made some lineup changes,” in order to improve on areas of play and keep the squad healthy for the season.
As the starting whistle blew Deportivo set an aggressive pace, pressing high, and forcing LUFC to play deep in their own half. LUFC quickly matched the physicality and worked to bring the ball down to gain control of the tempo. When asked how he felt about the team’s response to the pressure from Deportivo, Coach Galas stated proudly that, “We were fine. Our possession was good, they weren’t dangerous.” The head coach went on to say that, “they didn’t break us down, we didn’t turn the ball over in the build too many times. The biggest issue was the final ball for us and committing numbers forward and creating chances.” Despite LUFC’s efforts, a goal in the eighth minute of play from Deportivo put them up 1-0. The goal came off of a cross through the box, which rebounded multiple times and ultimately wasn’t cleared. The rest of the first half continued to be aggressive, with both teams battling and yellow cards being issued on both sides.
The second half saw a shift in the lineup with many players being rotated to keep the squad fresh. Notably, center-midfielder Yoshiki Igarashi coming in for captain Tate Richards and Hayden Galas coming onto the pitch as a right back. The Reds entered the second half aggressively, pressing high and eager to get on the board. Entering in the second half, Yoshiki Igarashi commented how, “coming in during the second half, it’s kind of difficult to get into the game, I just want to win and do my best.” Igarashi also spoke on how the team handled the tempo carrying through to the second half, saying that, “Our opponent came in with 100 percent energy and we just kind of sat back and played more defensively. Everyone was not on the same page, so it was kind of difficult offensively to get better.”
In the 59th minute of play, a miscommunication in LUFC’s defense led to another Deportivo goal, putting them up 2-0. Despite the setbacks, the team continued to fight and had successful plays utilizing players like Igarashi and Galas. Then, in the 75 minute of play, a final goal from Deportivo off a free kick due to a hand ball inside the box cemented the win for LUFC’s opponent.
Despite the score, the team learned a lot from Thursday’s match and are not set back in the slightest. When asked what areas of play the team succeeded in during the match, Hayden Galas asserted that, “we got into dangerous positions in their half. I thought we built out well and found ourselves in the final third, in their half a lot.” The Reds kick off their season this Sunday, May 19 at home versus Midlake UTD.
Thursday’s match was a testament to how soccer is more than just a game. The community rallied together to celebrate Coach John Galas, who was diagnosed with sarcoma earlier this year. After defeating cancer in April, this match aimed to celebrate John and raise money for treatment research in collaboration with Hummel, Critical Path, Institute (C-Path), CRDC, and XCures. The event was an astounding success, and LUFC gives its gratitude to all those who came out and supported the cause.
