Calgary Storm Match Reports by Jason Kmet
May 12, 2003 -- Portland 1 at Calgary 0
STORM DROP HOME OPENER 1-0
By Jason Kmet
The Calgary Storm began their home schedule for 2003 with a loss to divisional rival Portland on Wednesday night in front of a small crowd at Foothills Park. There were a lot of skeptics who thought the club would not survive into its sophomore season, but they have returned with a revamped roster which showed signs that they can improve on their four win inaugural season.
The Timbers had a decent chance early when Storm defender Liam DeSilva gave the ball away to McKinley Tennyson right in front of the net, but Jamie Glasnovic made the save at point blank range.
In the 6th minute, the Storm showed a bit of offense. C.J. Pesznecker made a run along the left side and put a nice ball on the ground across to Sean Fraser, but he put it over the net. Jordan Gillespie also attempted to set up Fraser from the same position in the 11th minute, but the Storm forward’s header went wide.
Portland had a couple of chances in the 14th minute. First there was a chaotic scramble in front of the net, with the ball being chased by several players. Glasnovic was able to scoop it up. Moments later Timbers scoring machine Fadi Afash was alone in front of the net on his back. He tried to flick the ball over Glasnovic, but the keeper was able to reach up and deflect the ball over the net.
One of the Storm’s new Jamaican recruits had the next two scoring chances. Jermaine Richards knocked a volley over the bar in the 19th minute. In the 32nd minute, he launched a rocket from about 40 yards from goal. Timbers keeper Cole Burgman was able to get in front of it, but he bobbled the ball. Unfortunately for the Storm, the keeper recovered before anyone could collect the loose ball.
The deadlock was broken in the 43rd minute when an unmarked Afash put the ball past Glasnovic after receiving an excellent pass from Tennyson on the left side. There was some suggestion there was a handball on the play, but the officials did not call anything.
There wasn’t much to report in the second half until the 57th minute, when Portland’s Brian Winters had a breakaway of sorts. He didn’t have total control of the ball and Glasnovic was able to come off his line and successfully challenge him.
The Storm applied some pressure just after the hour mark. Substitute Mark Korthius had the best chance in the 73rd minute, but was unable to finish.
The Timbers tried to pad their lead in the 81st minute when Manuel Brasil put the ball through to Jason Melendez in the middle but he shot the ball wide.
Calgary’s last chance to tie occurred near full time, but Nicolas Zuniga was not able to control the ball in the Timbers’ box sufficiently to get a shot on goal.
Lineups:
Calgary: Jamie Glasnovic, Jermaine Richards ( Mark Korthius 57th ), Liam DeSilva, Ajai Authers, C.J. Pesznecker, Jordan Gillespie, Conrad Chala, Richard Henry, Nicolas Zuniga, Nik Reyes (Dawes 40th), Sean Fraser (Keegan Thomas 78th) .
Portland: Cole Burgman, Nick Downing (Bryn Ritchie 87th), Gavin Wilkenson, Aaron Heinzen, Brian Winters, Hugo Alcaraz-Cueller, Manuel Brasil, Jason Melendez, Scott Benedetti, Fadi Afash (Jacob Vaughn 74th), McKinley Tennyson (Daniel Antoniuk 57th)
Goals: Portland: Afash (43rd)
Cautions: Calgary: Peszneker (40th), DeSilva (45th)
Ejections: None
Attendance: unannounced – estimates from 250 to 600.
Weather: sunny, calm 10C (approximately 50F)
STORM WARNINGS: The public address announcer started the proceedings with some unintentional humor when he introduced the opposition as the Seattle Sounders. He quickly corrected himself…Nik Reyes left the game with an injury …Reyes was a key member of the 2001 Storm PDL side that went to the league championship. He played in local league last season…Sean Fraser is another member of the 2001 PDL side to return to the club this year. However, Fraser never saw the pitch in 2001 because of an injury…Storm forward Brett Bachelu was injured last week in Seattle and will be out of the lineup for about two weeks…Defender Thomas Wheeldon Jr. sat the game out due to suspension…Among the Storm players making their first appearance at Foothills Park were Jamaicans Richard Henry, Jermaine Richards, and Ajai Authers. All three are on loan from Constance Springs FC of the Jamaica National Premier League. Henry has represented Jamaica at the senior national team level. Richards and Authers have both played for the Jamaican U23 national team…Nineteen year old English midfielder Ian Dawes made his A-League debut. He spent the last six years in the youth system of soccer giants Liverpool…Due to technical difficulties, there were no national anthems played and the Timbers were unable to broadcast the game back to Portland…The club returns to Foothills Park on Saturday when the El Paso Patriots pay a visit.