By JON WEBB
Glasgow Daily Times
GLASGOW —
An Andrew Froedge goal in the 50th minute couldn’t erase a slow first half, as the Glasgow Scotties tied with Taylor County 1-1 on Thursday at the Barren County/Glasgow Soccer Complex. The tie ceased the Scotties’ three-game, season-starting win streak.
According to head coach Ben Rascoe, the death of the winning streak had it roots in the team’s pregame warm ups.
“(The players) came in goofing off a little before the game and didn’t have their heads in it,” he said. “I don’t know if they expected a game as close as the one they got.”
Any lingering hopes for an easy win shattered just five minutes into the contest. After the controlling the ball for the first six percent of the game, the Cardinals drew a foul directly in front of the Glasgow net, sparking a penalty kick that snaked its way into the back of the goal to hand Taylor a 1-0 lead.
Immediately after the score, the Scotties briefly seized control of the tempo. Dustin Thomerson bounced a shot off the Cardinal keeper in the ninth minute. Glasgow as a whole swarmed the Taylor net, but was unable to place any more shots on goal.
And then a different kind of shot hit. Dillon Kirby, who has accounted for half of the Scotties’ 16 season goals, crumpled in Glasgow territory 11 minutes into the contest. Rascoe and his assistant coaches carried Kirby off the field due to what the forward’s coach characterized as an in-again, out-again knee injury stemming from offseason surgery.
After Kirby’s departure, Taylor assumed control of the ball again. The squad sent soccer balls whizzing just wide of the Scottie net, and placed shots on goal in the 23rd and 33rd minute. Keeper Chris Maysey batted each away, though, and kept Taylor stilted at one goal. Glasgow narrowly missed a chance to tie in the stanza’s waning moments, when a Froedge penalty found the gloves of the Cardinal keeper.
Froedge had better luck in the final 40 minutes. On a pass from Trevor Bosse, the midfielder weaved through defenders to roll a goal, knotting the score at one all.
Other opportunities followed. Thomerson placed two shots on goal in the 53rd and 55th minutes, respectively, and Robbie Gaitlin saw a kick sail wide of the near post in the 57th. Froedge ricochetted another shot off the keeper in the 67th, but the chances proved fruitless.
Taylor nearly regained the lead in the 78th minute when the ball crawled behind Maysey and made its way toward a gaping net. The keeper and defender Alex Taylor each gave chase before Taylor booted the ball out of bounds. The almost-accident was the final solid scoring opportunity for either team, as the game ended in a 1-1 tie.
Glasgow will now turn its attention to across-the-parking-lot rival Barren County. The two teams will play at the complex at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Rascoe said he can only hope the team’s mental focus, and physical well-being, improves before then. At least Kirby should be ready to go, he said.
“His knee pops in and out. I believe it popped back in at the end of the (Taylor) game,” he said. “A little too late, but that’s fine.”
