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| By JOHN F. SILVER, Staff Writer | July 01, 2001 |
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| By JOHN F. SILVER, Staff Writer | July 01, 2001 |
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| NEW BRITAIN - If the Connecticut Wolves want to become one of the elite teams in the A-League, they are going to have to bring their 'A' game every night. |
| Coming off a win in the Open Cup on Tuesday against the Tampa
Bay Mutiny, the Wolves went back to the A-League schedule against
the last place Toronto Lynx on Saturday night. The potential letdown that haunted Wolves coach Dan Gaspar reared its ugly head against the Lynx as the Wolves fought to a 1-1 tie at Veterans Memorial Stadium before 1,934 fans in New Britain. "The challenge for this team was to see if they can come back and play the last place team with the same kind of flair and with the same kind of discipline they did on Tuesday," Gaspar said after the game. "We did not achieve that today." Connecticut was lucky to even come out with a tie considering forward Fabio Zuniga was ejected late in the first half leaving the Wolves down a man for the second half and overtime. This caused the Wolves to radically alter their strategy. The Wolves wanted to press forward and attack with superior speed but down a player it was time to pack it in and take less chances. A player down, the Wolves were able to catch a break early in the second half to take the lead. Catching the Lynx off guard by attacking despite the disadvantage the Wolves caught the defense sleeping. In the 48th minute Winston Griffiths made a diagonal cross off his left foot to a streaking Mobi Oparaku who blasted into the net to make it 1-0. With a 1-0 lead it was time for the Wolves to pack it in and try and hold on for the victory. Playing a 4-4-1 box the Wolves chances were few in the second half as they tried to run out the clock. Giving up the midfield to the Lynx, the Wolves were content to clear any attack out of the zone. It almost worked. The Lynx, who have scored only four goals all season, were unable to get many quality chances despite the man advantage. In the 80th minute, David DiPlacido touched a ball off his heel to a wide-open Joe Martacchione who was alone on the right side about 10-yards From C1 out. Wolves' goalie Adam Throop came out to cut off the angle but Martacchione was able to blast it by Throop to tie the score. "It is very difficult with a man down. We were a little tired. We tried our best but we couldn't win it tonight," Oparaku said. The teams went to the overtime but neither was able to amount much of an attack. The Wolves, trying to hold on for the point, were content to let the clock run out and escape. The game ended with some controversy as the head official whistled the game over with some time clearly remaining on the clock. The official did the same at the end of the first overtime and had to be shielded from an irate Lynx coach Peter Pinzzotto after the game. "We were upset there were 2-to-3 minutes left in the game and he blows the whistle," Pinzzotto said. "I don't know what he was doing." Those words were echoed by many of the players and coaches on both teams who were bewildered by some of the calls. The biggest casualty was Zuniga. The night didn't start well for Zuniga as he was called for two fouls in the opening five minutes. It was a sign of things to come for the Cali, Colombia native as every fight he had for the ball ended up with a whistle and the official pointing in the Lynx direction. In the eighth minute a frustrated Zuniga was flagged for his first yellow card of the match. Zuniga continued to play physical but was unable to take any chances with a caution already on him. The Wolves had a couple of good chances in the first half but were unable to put anything in the back of the net. The best chance for the Wolves in the first half came in the 24th minute when Oparaku was left unchecked in the box and sent a rebound just over the cross bar. In the 44th minute Zuniga made a slide tackle at midfield and knocked the ball loose. Zuniga went on the attack until the head official blew a whistle a couple of seconds later to stop play. A frustrated Zuniga dropkicked the ball in the air earning his second yellow of the game and a subsequent red card and an ejection from the game. Zuniga was whistled for seven of the Wolves 15 fouls in the first half before being ejected. "Not only do I think he (official) hurt the Connecticut Wolves but I though he officiated poorly on both sides of the ball, he hurt both teams," Gaspar said. "We hadto resort to a 4-4-1. We had to be more conservative." The Wolves A-League record now stands at 5-2-4 good for 25 points while the Lynx fell to 2-6-1 on the year and are winless in their last six games. The Wolves will travel to Montreal on Wednesday July 4th to take on the Impact. "For us to pursue the playoffs we have play the best and the worst with the same type of commitment. That is how champions are built," Gaspar said. |
| ŠThe Bristol Press 2001 |
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