A late counter-attacking goal sinks the Blues at Greenwood
The Men in Blue had their chances but were unable to finish, as a last-second goal earned all three points for Hickory FC at Greenwood Field on Saturday afternoon.
The Blues pushed hard for an early goal, dominating the first 10 minutes of play but chances from Til Kauschke and Mitch Picksley were both struck off target.
Hickory earned their first chance of the match when they capitalized on a Blues turnover in the 17th minute and tried hitting the Blues on the counter but a well-timed Ryan Holmes block on the edge of the box snuffed out any danger.
In the 25th minute, Picksley received a feed on the edge of the box and tried picking out the bottom right corner but a diving stop from Josh Caron kept the match level.
In the 30th minute, Hickory broke through for a one-on-one opportunity, but Francois Djiba made a strong stop and the ball was cleared.
The Blues racked up a pair of dangerous chances in the final few minutes of the half, but Evan Southern’s low-driven shot was pushed wide by Caron and Liam Jones’ attempt from the edge of the box was scooped up as the two teams went into half deadlocked.
Besides an early Hickory chance where a Kauschke block and a diving Djiba save kept them from scoring, the first 25 minutes of the second half were widely uneventful. However, the match opened up more after the water break.
Gustavo Barbosa shuttled the ball down the left flank and slipped it inside the box to Ashton Bilow, who sent a ball towards the backpost, but no one was there to tap it home as it rolled out for a goal kick.
The Blues kept pushing but just seemed unable to make that decisive pass to break down Hickory’s defense, and in stoppage time, the Trees finally made them pay.
Hickory hit on the counter with numbers as the ball made its way to Alvaro Maneiro, who got behind Asheville’s backline and poked it past Djiba to earn a 1-0 Hickory victory.
Ryan Holmes was named the Wicked Pie Man of the Match for his efforts on the night.
The Blues return home to Greenwood Field on Saturday, May 23rd as part of another doubleheader. The Women take on One Knoxville at 3:30, while the Men face Charlotte Independence 2 at 7:00. You can buy your tickets here.
