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Flash mobbed: Sidekicks throttle RGV for second time in five days
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@starlocalnews.com
On Nov. 25, the Dallas Sidekicks traveled south to Hidalgo and earned a 7-3 victory over the Rio Grande Valley Flash.
Five days later, the two teams met again at the AEC and the script to the sequel didn’t stray far from its predecessor with the Sidekicks taking another 7-3 decision on Friday.
“[Rio Grande Valley] did some things differently today,” said Tatu, Sidekicks head coach. “They moved their defenders a bit more and pushed their forwards back on defense, which gave us some problems. Overall, this was a great win.”
“I woke them up a little bit,” Tatu said. “Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t and fortunately, tonight it did. We had a heart-to-heart conversation and it worked.”
After converting on just 2-of-11 shots in the first half, the Sidekicks scored four times within the first seven minutes of the third frame. Midfielder Robert Luevano got the ball rolling after RGV’s Damian Garcia blocked a ball from Dallas’ Patrick Shamu out into the open. Unguarded, Luevano capitalized and launched a shot high and past RGV goalkeeper Juan Gamboa just 90 seconds into the period for a 3-1 lead. Less than two minutes later, midfield Jamie Lovegrove extended that margin to 4-1 on a header set up by forward Shaun David.
Two minutes later, with 9:15 remaining in the period, David helped orchestrate Luevano’s second goal in six minutes by setting up his teammate with a 1-on-1 crack at Gamboa. Some nifty footwork knocked the keeper off balance, paving the way for an easy goal and one minute later, Shamu intercepted a pass from RGV’s Joel Perez and assisted Ricardinho in Dallas’ fourth goal of the quarter.
David (one goal, two assists), Luevano (two goals) and Ricardinho (two goals) led the Sidekicks with four points apiece.
“Coach thought we played a little soft at first,” said Sagu, Sidekicks goalkeeper. “We went into the locker room and what Tatu told us, the kids followed everything he said, went out and did it. This was important for us.”
The Flash at last mustered a counter with Edgar Flores scoring off a Garcia assist with 2:53 left in the period to make the count 6-2.
It was one of the few chances RGV managed opposite Sagu, who turned away 9-of-12 shots on the night.
Gamboa saved 17-of-24 shots between the pipes, taking the place of Jose Bontti, who manned the goal during the first matchup between the Sidekicks and Flash.
Before erupting in the third period, Gamboa and the RGV defense didn’t succumb to another early barrage from Dallas, evidenced by the scoreless first quarter.
“[RGV] pressured us a little bit more this time,” Sagu said. “Our guys like that. In the first game, they didn’t know us and we didn’t know them, but tonight they prepared better.”
With 9:30 left in the second period, the Sidekicks broke the stalemate after an attempt to clear the ball by RGV’s Angel Sanchez was intercepted by midfielder Franck Mbemba and taken downfield for an eventual goal and 1-0 lead. Ninety seconds later, David shook off a slew of RGV defenders to break into the open and convert another chance for a 2-0 Dallas lead. It took just 15 seconds for the Flash to respond, pulling within one after a goal by Alejandro Morales.
That 2-1 margin carried into halftime. Dallas outscored RGV, 5-2, over the final two quarters with Ricardinho and Jose Malacara each trading goals in the fourth frame for the 7-3 final.
“It’s all about coaching,” Sagu said. “[Tatu] was an unbelievable player and now he’s proving what a great coach he is. We’ve been working really hard and this is the result.”
Sidekicks drop 10 in Texas win
Just 24 hours removed from dispatching of the Flash, the Sidekicks hit the road Saturday night and handed the Texas Strikers a 10-3 setback to improve to 4-0.
Dallas built up a 7-1 advantage by halftime, thanks to two goals and one assist by Mbemba and a pair of goals by Lovegrove. Mbemba totaled seven points in the victory after completing the hat trick 5:13 into the third. Lovegrove (two goals), David (two goals) and Michael Uremovich (two goals) chipped in four points apiece.
The Sidekicks return home Dec. 15 when they host the Strikers at 7 p.m.
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