North Carolina FC 3 – 3 Bethlehem Steel FC
Cary, NC—At this point in the 2019 USL Championship campaign, getting a point out of a game is important. But it’s the points that go wanting that North Carolina FC hopes don’t come back to haunt them, come late October.
After beating the Tampa Bay Rowdies in their last game at Sahlen’s Stadium, a heavy schedule and a growing list of injuries caught up with the Dead Whales. After dropping two games on the road—including an eyebrow-raising 4-0 drubbing at Loudoun United last weekend—NCFC was looking to regain their traction back at Sahlen’s Stadium.
Bethlehem Steel FC coach Brendan Burke chats with North Carolina FC coach Dave Sarachan prior to the start of Saturday night’s match.
Things were looking really good for the home team at the start of the game and they got on the scoreboard early on a sort of oddball play.
Referee Jonathan Bilinski played the advantage for NCFC on a Bethlehem handball. While it appeared that several players hesitated, anticipating a whistle, North Carolina captain Austin da Luz picked up the ball and, a couple of touches later, fired a hard shot past Todd Morton to give NCFC the lead in the ninth minute.
“It looked like the referee wanted to call a handball and then he saw I was going to pick it up and so he said, ‘play on,’” da Luz explained after the game. “Any time you’re going to cut across the goal like that, the keeper’s instinct is to lean to the far post and I think I caught him cheating a little bit and was able to sneak one in there near-post.”
North Carolina would double the lead in the 20th minute off of a set play. With a free kick about 30 yards out, midfielder Graham Smith floated the free kick into the penalty area. Robert Kristo, who had backed his defender toward the six-yard box, nodded the ball on goal. The ball kissed the inside of the post and bounced into the back of the net.
NCFC forward Robbie Kristo had another multi-goal game for his club.
“We actually did practice set pieces a little more heavily,” Kristo said after the game. “Last game we had a couple of mistakes, a couple of bad runs we had to work on. We communicated well and got guys in the right spot [on the free kick].”
As the first half ticked down, it looked like North Carolina would take a well-earned 2-0 lead into halftime. But at the 45th minute, Bethlehem’s Issa Rayyan brought the ball down the right flank and sent a cross into the 18-yard box toward Yomi Scintu, who had slipped behind the defense. With Alex Comsia bearing down on him, Scintu’s sliding shot beat Alex Tambakis to cut the lead in half.
It didn’t take North Carolina long to regain their two-goal lead. Just two minutes into the second half, Kristo stripped Steve Kingue of the ball in Bethlehem’s back third. Morton came out to challenge but the NCFC forward whacked a right-footer past him for his second goal on the evening.
“We actually responded pretty well,” said team captain da Luz about giving up the late goal before halftime. “[We] came out and scored a goal right away, which is what we wanted to do.”
Although it looked like NCFC had their grip on the game, they struggled to put Bethlehem away. The visitors pulled within a goal in the 60th minute when team captain James Chambers curled a free kick around the North Carolina wall and just out of Tambakis’ reach to make it 3-2.
Kristo very nearly had a hat-trick in the 62nd minute when he got on the end of a perfectly-placed corner kick, courtesy of Smith. This time, though, the goal post wasn’t as kind and Kristo’s header banged hard off of the frame and was sent to safety by the Steel defense.
“We get a pretty early goal, 3-1, and that moment we should be killing the game off,” Sarachan noted in his remarks to the media after the game. “A free-kick goal, well-struck…let them back in it and we don’t make a defensive play at the end of the game.”
With the game in its waning minutes, it looked like the Dead Whales were returning to their winning form but they just couldn’t shake off the youngsters from Pennsylvania. As the clock ticked into the 84th minute, Bethlehem executed a give-and-go that got them behind North Carolina’s back line. The ground ball cross skipped past Tambakis and skittered through the six-yard box before pinging off of the thigh of Shander Borgelin into the back of the net to tie the game.
“I think we were a little bit naïve the way we went about managing the game,” said da Luz.
It turned out to be a frustrating end to the night for NCFC goalkeeper Alex Tambakis and his defense.
NCFC pressed hard over the last six minutes for another goal but they weren’t able to get the game-winner out of their boots. At the final whistle, the two sides walked off of the pitch with a 3-3 draw and two very different reactions to the outcome.
Bethlehem Steel FC head coach Brendan Burke had full praise for his young squad. “I walk away really proud of the young group. We’re the second-youngest team ever to play in this league. So, to show that kind of character, I think is the most important thing.”
Kristo had a colorful—albeit not exactly printable—word for expressing his frustration over the result. “We can’t come out of here with one point. It’s got to be three points.”
Even with injuries, North Carolina has not faced adversity like they have over the last two weeks, which is making the players individually and collectively pause for reflection. “The last three games…not good enough,” Kristo said of the team’s recent skid. “Our mentality is playoffs right now and some mistakes can’t be made and we’re going to work on them and fix them so they’re not made, and we’re going to be okay. We’ll be alright.”
Austin da Luz echoed his teammate’s optimistic tone. “I think we still feel good,” he said. “Some guys, including myself, that haven’t seen a lot of the field lately got a taste of it tonight and got a little bit of experience and got to see what it’s all about. Hopefully, that will serve us well in this stretch run, as we chase that playoff spot and, hopefully, find ourselves in a home playoff spot. We just need to get healthy and we need to get guys back from their international duty and go from there.”
Asked about the messaging to the team as NCFC prepares their run toward the playoffs, Sarachan was forthright. “The next seven games—well, now it’s six—it’s a dogfight. Regardless of where teams are in the table, we have to approach each and every game as though the team that we’re playing against is going to give us their best game. We have to solidify defensively again, because we’ve conceded too many goals lately…when you’re up 3-1 at home you’ve got to win that game.
Final Notes
- Fifteen-year-old Patrick Bouhi started at center forward for Bethlehem Steel FC and had an impressive showing.
- In addition to injuries, North Carolina FC was missing three key players to international duty. Nazmi Albadawi is playing for Palestine in the Asia Cup, Dre Fortune made his debut with Trinidad and Tobago, and Yamikani Chester was with the Malawi national team.
- Defender Aaron Guillen was out of the starting lineup for the second game in a row. Sarachan made him available for selection if the situation warranted. Ben Speas remained out of the lineup while he recovers from a concussion.
- Next up for the Dead Whales is a road game with the Swope Park Rangers before they return home for a Southern Derby matchup against the Charleston Battery on September 22nd.
Lineups
North Carolina FC: A. Tambakis; C. Duvernay, S. Brotherton, A. Comsia, C. Storm (D.J. Taylor 72’); G. Smith, D. Wapiwo, A. da Luz ©, A. Panchot (S. Miller, 58’), D. Ewolo; R. Kristo (J. Rennicks, 81’)
Bethlehem Steel FC: T. Morton; W. Cortes, S. Kingue, B. Ofemiu, I. Rayyan (D. Huckaby, 89’); J. Chambers ©, C. Turner, Z. Zandi, A. Picazo (S. Borgelin, 74’); Y. Scintu, P. Bouhi (D. Flores, 80’)
Score:
North Carolina FC: 3
Bethlehem Steel FC: 3
Goals:
North Carolina FC: A. da Luz (9’ unassisted); R. Kristo (20’ G. Smith); R. Kristo (47’ unassisted)
Bethlehem Steel FC: Y. Scintu (45’ I. Rayyan); J. Chambers (60’ unassisted); S. Borgelin (84’ unassisted)
Discipline
North Carolina FC: S. Brotheron, YC 16’; R. Kristo, YC 48’; D. Wapiwo, YC 85’
Bethlehem Steel FC: none
Attendance: 3,457
Photo gallery: North Carolina FC v Bethlehem Steel FC
All photos by Victoria Klum.
