It was a massive 3 points for RIFC as we took down Birmingham Legion 2-0 on Saturday night at Beirne Stadium. For RIFC it was a match defined by returns: the return of Jack Panayotou and a return to form for both JJ Williams and the team as a whole. For Birmingham Legion, it was much of the same as they remained inept in front of goal and never looked like a real threat to get anything from this match. So, let’s have a look at how this all went down.

Coach Khano started by walking into the dressing room like this:

We saw two major changes here, the first being that my guy Frank Nodarse was back in the starting 11, replacing Grant Stoneman as I had suggested in the Prematch Lookout. The other change was of course Jack Panayotou getting the start in his return on loan from the New England Revolution. For all of the talk leading up to this one about who should start next to Dikwa between Mark Doyle and JJ Williams, the return of Jack P made that completely irrelevant. Khano chose to play neither and go with two number 10s in Fuson and Panayotou.

The addition of Panayotou almost paid immediate dividends with this chance 20 seconds in:

Clay Holstad was brilliant as always driving through midfield and Jack P was set up with a great chance but ultimately fired the ball harmlessly over the goal. We would continue as the better team for the first half and Jack P came close once again in the 42nd minute. No video clip for this one unfortunately. Stephen Turnbull headed a ball from the end line back into the box and Jack P buried the shot. However, the ball had gone out before Turnbull headed it and it just ended up as a goal kick for Birmingham.

It was more of the same in the 2nd half and Clay Holstad had a great chance in the 66th minute:

It was some great footwork in a tight spot for Holstad and he would have been rewarded with a goal if not for a good save.

The breakthrough would come just 5 minutes later with this goal from Turnbull:

Notice the little touch from JJ Williams to get the assist and the fantastic celebration from Turnbull as he jumped into the stands. The lead was well-deserved and we were going wild in section 13.

We would add our 2nd goal to put the game away in the 90th minute:

It was a powerful header from JJ Williams at the near post from a corner. The corner was won by more good work from Clay Holstad, who set up Jojea Kwizera with a chance that was saved and sent behind.

The match would end 2-0 and with help from some other results, we moved up to 5th in the Eastern Conference and just 1 point behind Detroit City in 4th. It’s great to see us in that spot in the standings but we still have 8 more matches this season. We need take the momentum from this game and keep it rolling if we want a chance to get that coveted home playoff game.

This is the part of the blog where I get to brag about my predictions from the Prematch Lookout. As I mentioned earlier, I suggested that Nodarse might come in for Stoneman. But more importantly than that, I called the 2-0 win and the late goal for JJ Williams. I’m wrong way more than I’m right, so as I mentioned in a blog all the way back after the Miami FC game, I’m going to celebrate the rare personal victories.

There’s been a lot of discussion here at Tide Talk about that JJ vs Doyle debate. I’m going to talk more about this on the Quahog Corner, so be sure to check that out live tonight (Monday) or listen wherever you get your podcasts. But I’ll spoil a little bit of that discussion here. I’ve obviously been critical of JJ Williams in recent weeks and I was all for continuing to start Mark Doyle over him. My rationale was that I felt like even without JJ, we had been able to get the ball into good areas and create some chances. Our biggest problem was not converting said chances and I put that mainly on our strikers. From the eye test, Doyle seemed to be getting into better positions to score than JJ had.

As I mentioned earlier, this debate kind of became irrelevant anyway with the return of Jack Panayotou. Neither player ended up starting and JJ came off the bench just like he has in recent weeks. And make no mistake, JJ was a huge difference maker in this one. He was right where I wanted him in the box on that Turnbull goal and he used his strength and heading ability on the corner to get his goal. This is what I’ve wanted to see from JJ all season. I understand that earlier this season we may have needed him to drop back into midfield more often to get his teammates involved. My hope now is that with Jack P back, JJ can take up more positions in the box and start banging in goals. No one is happier than me that JJ had a great game Saturday night and long may it continue.

I also have to shout out Clay Holstad for his performance in this one:

Clay was literally all over the field in this one. It wasn’t just the chance for Jack P or the chance he himself had that I mentioned earlier. He tracked back defensively extremely well and he was always involved in progressing the ball forward. Clay was a true box to box midfielder Saturday night and he deserves a ton of praise for it. I don’t want to steal any more of Timmy’s thunder, so go check out his Player Ratings for more on this game.

RIFC travels to Pittsburgh to take on the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Saturday. It’s another important Eastern Conference matchup and I can’t wait to cheer on the boys in amber and blue from Providence Brewing with the rest of the Tide Talk guys. I’ll have more on this later in the week so be sure to keep an eye out for the Prematch Lookout and follow the Tide Talk socials. Until then, all that’s left to say is UP THE TIDE!