The Boys in Blue earned a dominating 3-0 win over the South Carolina United Bantams at Greenwood Field on June 13th.

The Blues jumped out to an early lead in the 10th minute when Alex Horveno started the move by sending a long diagonal ball to Alex Andersson out on the left flank. Andersson took the ball to the touchline and sent a ball to the center of the box that went by the goalkeeper and found Quenzi Huerman for a tap-in goal to get the festivities started in Asheville.

In the 17th minute, South Carolina looked to strike back. Arnaud Baron jumped on a loose ball just outside the center of the semicircle on the goalbox and fired a curling effort that stung the right post, denying the equalizer.

In the 25th minute the Blues would find another when Abdul Amadu would send a long ball to Andersson. Andersson would drive down the throat of the SC United defense and unleash a curling shot from outside of the box that found the upper right corner to increase Asheville’s lead to 2-0.

“I thought I had a good performance but as always it’s credit to my teammates. It’s a team game so all the credit goes to them as well,” said Alex Andersson.

In the 43rd minute the Blues would come close to finding a third when Scott Vatne stepped up to take a freekick about 5 yards outside of the box. Vatne then smoked a dipping shot towards the upper left corner but it sailed just over the crossbar.

In the 51st minute the Bantams finally seemed to get on the board. Leroy Zeller made the initial stop with his feet on a close-range shot but the rebound fell to Aristode Banzouzi who cleaned up the mess and tucked the rebound home. However, Banzouzi was in an offside position when the ball was shot so the goal was called back and the Asheville lead remained two.

Moments later, Grayson Barber would go on a run into the box and lay it off just outside of the 6 for Banzouzi who took a one-touch shot towards the right side of goal but Zeller made a beautiful diving point-blank save to keep Asheville’s two-goal cushion.

Two minutes after that, Huerman forced a mistake from the Bantams backline and lay it off for Matty Cornish whose rocket of a dipping effort dropped just a fraction too late and the ball narrowly sailed over the crossbar.

However, in the 55th minute Asheville would make it three. Amadu would start another move with a long diagonal to an Alex, this time being Horveno. Horveno would beat the defender to the ball and pop it up into the air before sending a cross over to Andersson. A Bantams defender would beat Andersson to the ball and nick it away but Horevno would pounce on it and sneak a cheeky finish past the keeper at the near post to increase the Blues lead to 3-0.

In the 59th minute, Asheville would keep pushing. Lovely ball movement would lead to Max Miller being found alone on the right side of the box. Miller sent a curling attempt towards the bottom left corner but Justin Siegel was able to get down and palm the ball out for a corner kick.

“He’s been brilliant for us. He’s young, he’s hungry, he’s energetic. He holds himself to such a high standard, so for us it’s just a pleasure to work with him everyday because he’s so professional,” said Head Coach Scott Wells.

The last big chance of the match came way of substitute Caio Oliveira. Oliveira was left all alone for a long-range ripper that had plenty of movement on the way in but the shot went narrowly past the left post.

“I think one of the keys to our season right now is to be able to bring players on who can match the level and the energy. Caio Oliveira has just been phenomenal off the bench for us and he’s been knocking down the door to start and he’s so close,” said Wells. “Liam Healey was fantastic when he came on. Bissafi Dotte’s been injured since November, so we’re just so happy to get him back into the rotation. Alex McKinley was fantastic, Kieran Richards, Matty Cornish, I mean I could go on. I was just really really happy with the guys coming off the bench and being able to keep that standard. That’s a sign of a championship team right there.”

The Blues would hold on for a 3-0 victory, a win that gives them sole possession of first place halfway through the season.

“Our best performance of the season. It was a complete performance, a clean sheet, we managed the game fantastic in the second half. Honestly, I was just so impressed with our management of the game throughout the whole process, from the first minute to the 90th minute,” said Wells.

For his efforts on the night, Alex Andersson was awarded the Highland Brewing Wishing Star of the Match.

The Men now get a little break before hosting the Dalton Red Wolves at Greenwood Field on June 24th.

Up next for the Women, is a pivotal home match against FC Carolinas on June 20th.