The feeling at halftime was a mix of satisfaction and frustration for the Tam High boys soccer team.
The Red-tailed Hawks had dominated possession and created a slew of chances but had nothing to show for it. The chances continued to come in the second half, with Samy Wahab setting up one goal and scoring the other to help Tam pick up an important three points with a 2-0 road win against Novato on Saturday.
“A little bit of both (feelings at halftime),” Tam coach Dustin Nygaard said. “The boys — and myself — I was very happy with how they played box to box, created a number of really good opportunities. I thought we were really diverse in our style of play, building through the midfield, being a little direct, but we just had a little bit of a problem scoring goals. At the same time, if you keep creating the chances at some point you like to think you’re going to get one or two to go in the back of the net.”
Tam (3-3-1, 3-2-1 MCAL) was denied by the goal post twice in the first half and denied by Novato goalie Erick Hernandez a couple more times.
Tam denied by the post again #marinsoccer pic.twitter.com/Wvym1Ta7cQ
— Ian Ross (@IRossMIJ) January 4, 2020
“We hit the inside of the post and it went straight across the goal then (the goalie) pulled one out of the top corner in a 5-minute window or something like that,” Nygaard said. “At some point you’re shaking your head on the sideline and you’re wondering if there’s a forcefield around the goal.”
The Red-tailed Hawks also had a potential goal taken off the board as an outswinging corner kick was judged to have gone out of bounds and back in before it was headed into the back of the net by a Tam player.
“I wasn’t happy (at halftime),” Wahab said. “We had so many chances that we didn’t finish. We were hungry to just get out and put the game to bed.”
Wahab had been central to most of Tam’s best moments in the first half and that trend continued in the second half. Wahab pounced on a wayward Novato goal kick in the 55th minute and found his brother, Salem, who fired the ball into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.
“(The goalie) went right up the middle of the field with it and did not get any loft and it went right to Samy,” Nygaard said. “Then (Salem), who was battling some stomach issues at halftime and had literally had just gotten back on the field 15 seconds before that — the kid was ready and it was just an epic goal from distance.”
The goal settled some nerves after Tam had seen chance after chance go by the wayside.
“I’m not going to lie. I was gripping at 0-0 and I was gripping at 1-0 because I know that (the Hornets) have dangerous players and they are very capable of getting in behind (the defense),” Nygaard said.
The Hornets (2-3-1, 2-3-1) entered the final 10 minutes still very much in the game but Samy Wahab doubled Tam’s advantage in the 74th minute, heading the ball home after an inch-perfect cross from right back Aenas Nicholas.
“(Nicolas) played a great ball,” Tam’s Otto Ryerson said. “Samy judged it well and just gave it a little flick over the keeper.”
The win lifted Tam into the top four with 10 points, tying San Rafael for third place.
“Anyone can beat anyone (in the MCAL),” Samy Wahab said. “It was a must-win game for us. It was a huge victory. We needed a dub. We just lost to (Terra Linda) the other weekend so coming here and getting a result on the road was huge for us.”
Around the county
- Ruthwick Challagonda scored a pair of goals as first-place Terra Linda (5-0-1, 5-0-1) defeated defending MCAL champion Redwood, 4-2. Tyler Bell and Roan Goertz also scored for TL. Alex Johnson and Shawn Clarke scored for the Giants (2-4-1, 1-3-1) with Keaton Fargo and Charlie Tantum picking up assists.
- Miles Crock assisted on all three goals as Drake picked up a 3-0 win against Marin Catholic (3-2-1, 2-2-1). Crock set up two scores for Noah Gardner and a third for Zack Lillington. Mason Beak had the shutout for Drake (4-0-3, 3-0-2), which sits in second place on 11 points.
- Pablo Bartone and Enrique Amador scored goals as San Rafael held off Branson, 2-1. Denilson Calderon assisted on Bartone’s goal for the Bulldogs (3-1-3, 3-1-1). Paris Manthouli scored a solo goal for Branson (2-5-1, 1-4-1).
2020-01-05 03:32:02Z
https://www.marinij.com/2020/01/04/boys-soccer-wahab-leads-tam-past-novato/
CBMiS2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lm1hcmluaWouY29tLzIwMjAvMDEvMDQvYm95cy1zb2NjZXItd2FoYWItbGVhZHMtdGFtLXBhc3Qtbm92YXRvL9IBT2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lm1hcmluaWouY29tLzIwMjAvMDEvMDQvYm95cy1zb2NjZXItd2FoYWItbGVhZHMtdGFtLXBhc3Qtbm92YXRvL2FtcC8
No comments:
Post a Comment