Rhode Island FC shared the points with Orange County SC tonight after playing to a 1-1 draw.  Hugo Bacharach got RIFC’s goal in the 51st but Ousmane Sylla would get the tying goal for Orange County in the 67th.  Here are my thoughts and takeaways from our return to Tidewater on fireworks night:

Back at Tidewater

It had been three weeks since RIFC last played but a whole month since they last graced the Centreville Bank Stadium field.  Well, at least in a game in front of fans.  It was such a great feeling to be back.  Despite the heat (and the holiday) there was a great crowd.  I realize I always complain about the weather, with rain being the primary issue this season.  And here I am complaining about the heat.  So maybe it’s just a me thing.  I’m dying for a 60 degree evening with a slight breeze.  For the record though, when it started downpouring around the 80th minute it was glorious.  Perfect time for rain to cool me down.  Anyway, forgetting about the weather, it was so awesome to be back at Tidewater.  It was like we never had a break.

Hamady, Zach, and Clay

I wrote about Hamady Diop in the prematch blog, hoping to manifest his return from injury.  It didn’t work.  He showed up on the availability report alongside Zach Herivaux.  I’m not in the “Zach needs to start” camp but I do really appreciate what he can bring to the team.  So it was disappointing seeing him out again.  It became even more disappointing when Clay Holstad went down with an apparent injury at the end of the first half.  Central midfield could start to look thin really quickly.

Orange County Defense

The thing that stood out to me about Orange County, aside from their awesome kit, was their defense.  Especially in the first half.  Every time RIFC got forward they were met with an organized defense.  Even when they had to get back in transition, they recovered quickly.  We often talk about RIFC’s struggles with breaking teams down but tonight I felt it was more a case of Orange County being good rather than RIFC struggling in the attacking third.  I liked what I saw from the RIFC attack more often than not.

Hugo Header

What a great sight to see: one of the tall guys getting on the end of a corner.

Against a defense that was tough to beat in open play, getting a goal like this was needed.  It was a good delivery from Amos and Hugo did well to hold off his marker.  All around nice goal.

Sensational Sylla

You can choose to not believe me, but I was going to call out Orange County midfielder Ousmane Sylla even before he scored the equalizer.  He looked so good in midfield carrying the ball.  And I didn’t even mention him in the prematch blog as someone to watch for.  Shows how much I know.  Anyway, his goal here was sensational:

All I can really say here is, it’s further proof of why Jojea is not a defender.  And also, can we sign this guy?  We may need a midfielder really soon.

Fireworks

Not only does the team deserve credit for the fireworks at the end of the game, but so do all the people in the neighborhood for firing them off all game long.  At one point, Orange County had a corner and before it was taken, their goalkeeper was watching them go off.  Such a funny moment to me.  I wish I got a picture of it but here’s what I have instead:

Final Thoughts

Overall I thought this was a decent result.  I predicted a 1-1 coming in so I wasn’t really surprised.  Orange County showed why they’re on top of the Western Conference.  But I thought our guys played really well and we could have won it right at the end when Amos made an incredible run and just narrowly missed the far post with the last kick of the ball. 

The postmatch pod and Player Ratings will return tomorrow.  I told Timmy during the game he needed to give Frank an 8 for his performance at left back but something tells me that won’t happen.  I’ll be back….well…with RIFC content on Tuesday to preview Wednesday night’s game in Sacramento.  Aside from that, the world cup blogs will continue.  Until next time though, UP THE TIDE!