The first ever Cascadia team
Photo: Ali Gilmore
Cascadia Corner: Despite loss, morale remains high in Cascadian camp
by Steve Clare, founder Prost Amerika
You might think a 4-1 defeat in their opening game would see heads go down and recrimination ensue. Certainly FIFA World Cup history is littered with squads combusting after pre-tournament hopes are shattered by an opening game reality check.
The same could have been true among the Cascadia squad after their loss to Ellan Vannin. However nothing seems to be further from the truth.
For clarification, there is none of the “we’re just happy to be here” hogwash that so irritates fans after an early indication that a side is out of its depth in a global tournament. That is decidedly not a description of the mood that prevailed around Gander Green Lane after the dust had settled.
Sure there was disappointment. Nobody likes to lose a game 4-1. But overpowering that was a steely determination to use today’s day off to collate what had been learned and make improvements.
Cascadia actually started the game very well. For the first ten minutes, they looked the more organised side. The passing was slick and to feet. The ball service out to Max Oldham on the right wing was regular, and the Corinthian Casuals winger had the beating of his opposite man, as did Anthony Wright to a less obvious extent out on the left.
The two veterans James Riley and Jordan Wilson looked assured at the back, even if Riley wasn’t at 100%.
Coach Nichols summed up the feelings of many at that point when he said after the game:
“In the first half we were better than we expected.”
Young Josh Doughty looked hungry for possession and went looking for it. He has career highlights in his future but nobody will ever be able to remove from him the title of first ever Cascadian goalscorer.
Watching and learning, captain James Riley
Photo: Ali Gilmore
Tellingly though, the side was still 2-1 down at half time despite being the better team. The Manx finishing was crisper and they did a far better job of turning possession into shots. One thing Nichols might want to encourage in the remaining two games is more long range efforts.
It seems a reasonably sound way of counteracting the lack of experience the players have of each others’ off the ball habits, expectations and intentions. By the time the white shirts adopted speculation as a tactic, the game was already lost.
Nichols and Riley can analyse till the Surrey crows hover about the difference in the two halves and there is no doubt they will find snippets to learn from, as well as reasonable explanations such as jet lag and fatigue. The main difference however was the performance of the opponents after half time.
A sense of entitlement seemed to surround the aesthetically pleasing flame shirts in the opening half. It was almost like they overbelieved the hype about being tournament favourites and the Cascadians barely knowing each other’s names. They came out after the interval, presumably having had a rocket fired up them by coach Chris Bass. He would have been justified in doing so,
In the remaining 45, they did indeed look like a side capable of going far in this Cup, and their breakaways showed a pace, which eventually the leggy Cascadian defenders could not match. Yes, Cascadia did tail off a little as the game progressed, but the biggest difference maker was the better focus of the Manx men after the interval. Put another way, Nichols need not lose sleep over anything his side did wrong or less well after the interval. The sharp increase in effort together with a higher field press by Ellan Vannin was the largest change.
The experience Riley brings was higlighted in one first half moment.
Max Oldham, playing at right wing, had gone down in a challenge. Play went on, only for a second challenge to bring Cascadia a free kick at the right back position in Riley’s position.
Max Oldham and Hector Morales in conversation
Photo: Ali Gilmore
The Sounders FC veteran spotted Wright making a run unopposed fifty yards away down the left wing channel and across the field. In a split second while Riley was placing the ball and was swinging his boot, he managed to look up and see Wright in the distance, see Oldham still grounded from the challenge ahead of him, estimate how likely his pass was to reach Wright, estimate the likelihood that Wright could score from that left wing position still thirty yards from goal, assess the defensive dangers likely to arise from losing possession while Oldham was grounded and having done all that and made the calculation, still remember to withdraw his boot from taking the free kick quickly at the last moment having made that risk-benefit analysis.
It was a piece of veteran and intelligence that few will have notice but young Max Oldham certainly did. On restarting, he hared back twenty yards to receive the ball from an under pressure Riley who had received a hospital pass and, in doing so, prevent a turnover. If nothing else, it encapsulated how an aging but venerated right back can inspire younger players.
That the team spirit remains positive was affirmed by forward Calum Ferguson after the match.
“We’ve got a real good togetherness already considering we’ve only met for a couple of days. There’s a real good banter around the place. The boys are getting on well.”
Today is the squad’s only rest day and Nichols will probably see fatigue and the odd knock make some decisions for him as he selects the XI to start at Carshalton on Saturday to face Barawa.
He will also have watched them last night. Having won that match 4-0, it looks like Barawa and Cascadia are the rivals for the second qualifying slot out the group.
By 4pm tomorrow, we’ll have more answers finally than questions.
Or will we?
