It’s quite amazing how unbothered 901 FC can consistently look as they soak up (usually nonthreatening) pressure against most opponents. And when they recover possession, it looks like FIFA as they string passes together, break the press, and find themselves with an overwhelming numbers advantage heading into the opposing final third. Of course, their work in possession isn’t bad either (which is mostly what we saw in Indiana) when it’s called for, and that’s a credit to coach Ben Pirmann, who was recently nominated for the USL mid-season coach of the year. Probably goes without saying that he should receive a nice pay bump for the work he’s done so far.
Last Saturday, Indy Eleven was set to provide a different kind of challenge from what Louisville posed the week before. Our Kentucky opponents, #1 in the Eastern Conference, on July 16th played like they had a higher floor than most USL team’s ceilings. Indy, meanwhile, hadn’t been able to score in quite a long time. But anything can happen in soccer, which is why we love the sport. 901 FC had the first swing, with Luiz Fernando hitting the crossbar in the fourth minute, with a couple follow-ups also failing to find the back of the net. And a few lucky bobbles just minutes later went Indy Eleven’s way as they took the lead in the ninth minute, scoring their first goal in 459 minutes (wow!). And to compound our misery, Fernando hit the post after cutting in and unleashing a curler. Sometimes things just don’t go your way. And in the 22nd, some slick interplay in crowded spaces ended with Chris Allan slotting it past Sean Lewis, only for the offside flag to pop up.
But in the 23rd, Memphis finally did equalize with an incredible play across the board. A lofted through ball found Rece Buckmaster completely alone in the Indy box. The defender froze to draw out Lewis, and then stealthily slid a ball close to the back post for Phillip Goodrum to poke in for his 12th goal of the season. Fernando was then at it again in the 30th, cutting back in onto his left and forcing a good save from Lewis. And a minute later, Fernando played an inch-perfect pass to Derek Dodson, who shot straight at Lewis.
And that was pretty much the tale of the first half. Memphis’ attack factory churned out chance after chance. Indy’s strong press faded after the start, and all the chances were going 901 FC’s way. Such was the direction of traffic that fans could be forgiven for scratching their heads and wondering how we’d only scored once.
Indy’s press did come back out to start the second half, but whenever they threatened danger, a Memphis defender was there to mop things up. And Niall Logue set up Fernando in the Indy box early on, but he underhit his pass to set up a teammate, seeing another good chance squandered. And Memphis just continued to carve their way through the Indy midfield and back line, with Fernando usually at the center of every passage. In the 90th minute, the ref frustratingly blew the whistle instead of playing an advantage which could have seen Memphis 2v2 against the Indy defense. In fairness, we saw that kind of call go both ways, which is annoying for both sets of fans. And in one late scare, Indy worked one last headed chance through Manuel Arteaga, but goalkeeper Trey Muse came up big with the save.
A draw was a very frustrating result for 901 FC, but the overall performance continued a fine string of form that Memphis has put together this season. All game long, the players picked Indy apart with surgical precision. The well-oiled midfield machine constantly worked the ball around onrushing defenders and out to the wings, where a rotating player would drive into the open half-spaces left by the Eleven’s press. There, they could either loft a ball past the Indy back line, as happened for Goodrum’s equalizer, or ping a couple of passes around in tighter spaces as they worked their way into the box. Both approaches worked, but a couple of times Memphis’ final ball just let them down. For now, Memphis remains in third in the Eastern Conference standings. And if you noticed, a return to a 32-page Memphis Flyer means we have room for soccer columns in our pages again! Our 901 FC coverage has been away for a while, but hopefully I’ll be back with you all again, dear readers, for our next match away to New York Red Bulls II on August 3rd.
