The focus this week for Tormenta FC has been cleaning up the defensive miscues that have plagued South Georgia in 2023.
So of course Tormenta would come out and score 65 seconds into their game against Central Valley Fuego and add another one early in the second half before holding for a 2-1 win and earning a critical three points for their quest to move into playoff position.
“Tonight was about one thing and one thing only. Let’s find a way to win the game,” said Tormenta Manager Ian Cameron. “We’ve been defensively shaky as a group. We’ve been high octane in terms of scoring goals and so we should have and could have made that game easier, but the end result is the most important thing right now.”
Less than a minute into the match, Tormenta’s Arthur Bosua applied pressure down the left side before laying the ball off to Davey Mason. Mason took a touch, looked up and lofted a cross into the penalty area which found the head of Matheus Cassini.
Cassini’s header sailed back behind Fuego goalkeeper Mitchell North and into the net to give Tormenta an early 1-0 lead.
“I just looked up and I was like ‘let me cross it into a good area and hope someone’s there’ and Cassini made a great play on it,” Mason said.
Central Valley looked to respond in the 13th minute after Villyan Bijev was able to find some space near the top of the box. His left-footed shot deflected off a Tormenta defender, forcing goalkeeper Pablo Jara to make a diving save to keep the ball out of the net.
Three minutes later, Bosua was chasing down a long pass when North came out of the box to grab the ball, resulting in a red card for North and forcing Central Valley to play with 10 men the remainder of the game.
“I think when it was 11 vs. 11 we were much stronger than when they were a man down,” Cameron said. “When you’re a man up, sometimes complacency comes in.”
Pedro Fonseca would test new goalkeeper Matias Fernandez in the 37th minute when he tried to catch him too far out of his goal. Fonseca gathered the ball near midfield and fired a shot towards the goal. Fernandez was out of position and unable to save it, but the shot went just wide but a matter of inches.
Bijev nearly equalized three minutes into stoppage time in the first half. This time he was able to find space inside the penalty area on the left side and blasted a shot. Jara dove to his left and was able to deflect it away with his left hand to keep Tormenta’s lead at 1-0.
Tormenta would double their lead six minutes in to the second half. Mason once again found himself on the left side and was able to slide a cross on the ground to the penalty spot where Jackson Khoury was waiting to finish with a one-touch strike to the near post by a diving Fernandez to put Tormenta up 2-0.
“I’ve been working on cutbacks and it was in my head before the game that a cutback would be on and it was a great finish by Jackson as well,” Mason said of his second assist of the game.
Even with scoring a goal, Khoury said the attention has been on being a better defensive unit.
“There’s been a shift in mentality which hopefully brings us much closer to the end goal which is the playoffs and getting that top spot at the end of the season,” Khoury said.
“It has a lot to do with just a better defensive effort from everyone,” he said. “Conceded less goals and just putitng in the hard yards when it comes to it, even if it doesn’t look pretty. I think tonight it showed a lot in parts of the game."
South Georgia looked to be cruising to close out the match, but in the 82nd minute John Murphy Jr. was whistled for a foul in the penalty box on a sliding tackle.
On the ensuing penalty kick, Jara guessed the wrong way on his dive as Alexis Cerritos buried the ball in the right side of the net to cut the Tormenta lead in half.
Fuego’s Harold Hanson nearly tied it in the 90th minute as he was able to get open 30 yards from goal and unleashed a rocket that was just wide as it hit the outside of the net.
A minute later, Razak Cromwell had a nifty move inside the box to create some space on the left side, but his shot was tipped wide by Jara to keep Tormenta ahead. They would hold on for the 2-1 win.
Tormenta currently sits in seventh place with 27 points on the year. Currently Greenville is in sixth place with 32 points despite having played one fewer game than South Georgia.
“We’re three points closer to where we want to be,” Cameron said. “It’s just picking up as many wins as possible in the final games of the season to put ourselves in position where, going in to the last three or four games of the season, we have it in our own hands to make the playoffs.”
Tormenta outshot Central Valley 21-12 on the night, including 12 shots from inside the box for South Georgia.
South Georgia will next be in action Saturday when they travel to face Charlotte Independence. Charlotte currently is fifth in the table with 33 points.
Cameron said the win should provide a boost of confidence going forward.
“This squad believes in itself, but when things haven’t been going your way then nothing comes easy and that showed tonight,” he said. “There were just things that we made harder for ourselves, but we worked through it and found a way and there will be more confident performances soon, I’m sure.”
Following Saturday’s road match, South Georgia returns home on August 19 for a home matchup with Forward Madison, currently second in the standings, followed by a rescheduled match against Northern Colorado on August 23, also at home. Northern Colorado currently sits in third place.
News and Notes:
Philip Neiland names Tormenta FC Academy MLS NEXT Coach
Tormenta FC Academy named Philip Neiland as the clubs U15 and U16 MLS Next coach on Tuesday. Neiland has worked professionally around the globe, including Vietnam, Maldives, Ghana, Ireland and South Korea.
“”We want our players to be pushed daily while receiving instruction from coaches with top licenses that have professional playing and coaching experience,” said Torment FC ACademy Vice President Brad Nein. “What a big win for soccer in our area of the country.”
“I’ve been an admirer of Tormenta’s growth and impact from afar,” Neiland said. “I’m excited and thankful for the opportunity to return to the USA and work with the staff and players on the professional pathway at Tormenta FC”
Georgia Southern soccer teams in attendance
Members of the Georgia Southern mens and womens soccer teams were in attendance Wednesday night and were recognized at halftime.
“We’re so grateful for them coming out,” Cameron said. “It helps with the environment and we look forward to watching their games coming up.”
