Tonight's match up saw the Tigers looking to rebound after a tough run of matches on the road against USAO. What is normally a very hard and physical battle, the Tigers would need to add a little bit of extra quality if they were to win the contest.
"Coming into the game, there was no secrets as to what was going to happen. We made some slight adjustments in starting positions, and it paid off for us," Coach Hoxie said.
The changes reaped dividends as the Tigers were the dominate side for the first 15-20 minutes generating 5 shots and 3 on goal, one of them forcing the GK into a breakaway save. The Tigers pressure and set up was too much for the Drovers to handle, but the Tigers would not get any reward from their great start.
Coach Hoxie added, "yah...great start to the contest. We were brave, hard hitting, committed, and we were almost rewarded for the effort. Our constant pressure creating several chances, and if one of those falls, it's a completely different outlook. Our front 4 were absolutely all over them during this sequence."
As the half wore on, the Tigers were unable to keep up the frenetic pace and began to drop into deeper blocks. This allowed the Drovers to finally get a foot hold in the game and they started generating some half chances. However, the back line was solid in dealing with the threats, and Sebastian was rock solid controlling his box.
Eventually, the pressure would cause enough strain to force a turnover by the Tigers back line. An unfortunate situation but a lesson to be learned for the young back line. The Tigers would go into half time at 0-1.
"All praise to Sebastián during this phase of the game. These phases happen over 90 minutes and you need your GK to keep you in the game until changes can be made. He did this tonight, absolutely phenomenal!"
"The goal was 100% preventable. We talk about teams having to beat us and not give goals away. This was a give away. But I want to praise my guys because their response was wonderful."
The second half was played at a high level but was primarily played in the MF. Both of the teams were effective and stopping the others strengths and the game was stale, so to speak. However, with about 20 minutes to go, the game started opening up as the Tigers balls into space began to reap benefits. A couple of shots on goal, a header that sailed just over, and two better decisions inside the box, and the Tigers could have capitalized.
"We were able to manage the game at the start of the 2nd. We wanted to see how they would adjust to our style of play, and we were just a little bit off going forward. The latter part of the game, we were much better and moving with each other, and our collective effort was almost rewarded several times. But it wasn't to be on the night."
As the clock ticked down, the Tigers had 3 corner kicks in the final few minutes. Nothing came specifically from this but the commitment to look for a winner was there, and that's what the coaching staff was praising on the night.
The Tigers will be closing out their regular season next week on the road with two crucial matchups against Texas Wesleyan and Southwest Assemblies of God University. They will need at least 3 points to qualify for the SAC postseason.
"I'm proud of these kids. Time and time again we prove to ourselves that we belong in this conference. We are one or two pieces of quality away from winning this game tonight, that's how thin the margins are. We have two more matches left. We are not taking those games lightly, and if we are to get to the post season, we will need to get all the points we can next week."
Go Tigers!
#Ambush
