Tag Archives: Ebrima Jatta

Rhinos Find a Way Past the L.A. Blues Again

Posted on by
Reply

The Rhinos went into Titan Stadium at Cal State Fullerton hoping to take a point away from the L.A. Blues.  Instead of settling for a draw, the team exploded out of the half time break and notched two quick goals in the first 11 minutes of the second half.  Despite defending heavily, Rochester remained dangerous on counter attacks and continued to press for a third goal when they had possession.  This victory moves the team to 2-0 on the early season, which Jeff DiVeronica revealed on Twitter is the first time the Rhinos have accomplished this feat since 2006.  Not only that, but the Rhinos picked up 6 points on the road from one of the pre-season favorites in USL-Pro.

The Los Angeles play-by-play analyst Marc Serber (@SoccerSerber) was fantastic throughout the match.  But onto the actual game..

The Rhinos lined up in the same 4-5-1/4-4-1-1 with Tam McManus playing in the hole.  Kristian Nicht started behind a back line of Jack Traynor, Troy Roberts, George Kyriazis, and Quavas Kirk.  J.C. Banks and Danny Earls again started on the wings, while Tyler Rosenlund and Drew Cost combined in the center of midfield.  Graciano Brito was the lone man up top.

Kirk was determined to be fit after coming off with a knock late in the first match, but the 32 old year Greek central defender replaced the injured Tyler Bellamy for his first league start as a Rhino.

Los Angeles started in the same formation they played last week, a 4-5-1 that transitions to a 4-3-3.  Starting from the goalkeeper, the Blues’ starters were: Jose Miranda; Sunyhung Cho, Carlos Borja, Ebrima Jatta, Bryan Burke; Erlys Garcia, Irving Garcia, Ricky Waddell; George Davis IV, Brian Farber, and Matt Fondy. Continue reading →

A Belated Review of the Rhinos’ Season Opener and Preview of the Rematch in Los Angeles

Posted on by
1

Tonight (Friday night), the Rhinos will return to Cal State Fullerton to take on the L.A. Blues again.  Last week’s season opener saw the Rhinos run out 1-0 winners thanks to a Tyler Rosenlund header from J.C. Banks in what was otherwise a closely contested match.

“The good from Saturday was our defensive shape away from home and our work rate, that was tremendous,” Myers told Jeff DiVeronica. “But we have to get better at holding the ball and changing the point of attack. We weren’t able to do that enough. Matter of fact, when we did it we scored a goal. When we find J.C. and Danny (Earls) we create problems for people.”

Quavas Kirk came off early in the team’s first match, so Lucas Fernández could get his first start.  According to DiVeronica, George Kyriazis is likely to replace injured Tyler Bellamy in the back, while Jack Traynor looks set to start again as Mike Zaher recovers from a nagging groin problem.

“The most important part of Saturday night is that we got all three points in our season opener.”  Myers said.  “There are typically a lot of questions whenever you begin the season.  We really didn’t know how good we were as a team.  We also really didn’t know what to expect from the Blues with a completely different roster this season. One thing we did know is that when you play a team that (L.A. Blues head coach) Charlie’s (Naimo) coaching they are going to play a short passing, possession style of play.  We just wanted to keep them from turning that possession into balls played in behind us.”

Players waiting for a Rochester corner kick during last week’s season opener. Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Blues Soccer facebook page.

Continue reading →