Blues hold on to win
IRVINE — Three key players missed a critical match for the Orange County Blues FC on Saturday.
Out of the lineup against the Austin Aztex were goalkeeper Pepe Miranda, defender Brenton Griffiths and striker Christofer Ramirez, all because of what happened late in the Blues’ previous contest at the Real Monarchs SLC. Ramirez picked up his fifth yellow card of the year, forcing him to sit against Austin because of yellow card accumulation.
At the end of the Real Monarchs’ match last week, Griffiths got his second yellow in the match and Miranda received a red card during a big scuffle.
It turned out the Blues didn’t need the trio in a crucial matchup with the Aztex.
The Blues went to a keeper they last used in their season opener in March and he came up big. Billy Thompson made three saves in stoppage time, one on a penalty kick, the next off a rebound, and another deep in the box, allowing Orange County to escape with a 1-0 victory at UC Irvine.
Thompson showed no rust. After the referee called Blues defender Josh Suggs for a handball in the box, Thompson stopped Andres Cuero’s penalty kick and the ensuing rebound. A couple of minutes later, off a bad clearance by Orange County, there was Thompson again doing whatever to get his gloves on Leone Cruz’s shot deep in the box.
Thompson’s late-match heroics and a goal by Nikola Ilich, a former Vanguard University player, in the 35th minute proved to be enough to help the Blues’ playoff hopes in the United Soccer League. The three points moved Orange County (10-8-3, 33 points) from seventh to fifth place in the Western Conference. The top six teams in the conference advance to the playoffs, and with the way the Blues are performing, they appear in postseason form.
The Blues enter the final seven matches on a roll, posting a 3-0-2 record in their past five matches. They have won three in row for the first time since April.
The reserves kept the Blues’ unbeaten streak alive. Ryan Felix, a seldom-used defender, started in place of Griffiths, Thompson got the nod in goal for Miranda, finishing with six saves, and Ilich came off the bench to score.
Griffiths served the first of a two-game suspension the USL handed down for his involvement in the 90th minute against one of the worst clubs in the league. Miranda only had to sit out one match.
Thompson didn’t have to do much for most of the evening, until late to record the shutout. Austin’s keeper, Devin Perales, was a busy man.
Austin (7-11-3), already without the services of defender Michael Ambrose because of a red card he received in a 1-0 loss at home to the Portland Timbers 2, couldn’t slow down Orange County’s attack.
Didier Crettenand had the Blues’ first great chance in the eighth minute. From just inside the top of the box, Crettenand received the ball off a bad pass by Austin’s defense. Crettenand wasted little time to unleash a shot that a diving Perales blocked. The Aztex kicked the rebound out of play, setting up the Blues’ first corner kick.
The Blues’ next opportunity came eight minutes later. Perales dove to his right again, this time to stop Christopher Santana’s low line drive from outside the top of the box.
In the 35th minute, Orange County finally beat Perales. Ilich found the back of the net, volleying the ball from the left side. Santana, from outside the box on the far right side, spotted a wide-open Ilich, floating a precise cross and Ilich finished the play, securing his first professional goal.
Ilich came in for Crettenand in the midfield in the 23rd minute. Thirteen minutes later, the move by Coach Oliver Wyss proved to be a wise one as Ilich broke a scoreless tie. Ilich never would’ve had a chance, if not for defender Jack McCracken’s long pass from midfield to Santana.
The ball movement and Ilich’s beautiful shot allowed the Blues to get the ball past Perales, who made seven saves in the first half. The offensive charge quieted some in the second half, especially after Luka Petricevic picked up his second yellow in the 74th minute when he tackled Austin’s Trevin Caesar from behind just outside the box.
With the Montenegrin getting ejected for the second time this year, the Blues played a man down the rest of the way. They survived, but the Blues will be without three key players again.
Striker Chris Cortez picked up a yellow card against Austin, his fifth of the season. Due to yellow card accumulation, Cortez will be unavailable for the Blues at Arizona United SC next Saturday.
The Blues have a week to see if they can overcome the losses of three more players, Griffiths, Petricevic and Cortez, again.
