On June 1st, Redlands FC, displaying remarkable resilience, overcame a 2-0 deficit to triumph over visiting side AMSG 3-2.
Pre-game
This matchup is the first time the two teams will meet in a competitive match. AMSG is a new USL 2 SW division expansion team from Orange County that played in leagues like the SoCal Premier. Approaching their fourth game of the season, AMSG’s form stands at W-T-W, beating Cohellca FC and SoCal Eagles. The hosts RFC’s form is W-L-T, with their biggest ever recorded win against Southern California Eagles 9-1 and their biggest defeat against Capo FC 4-1.
Game Recap
On a breezy Saturday evening at Dodge Stadium, the match was set to begin. Initially, the hosts looked sloppy, with incomplete passes that lost possession of AMSG to take advantage. With that advantage, AMSG capitalized on RFC’s mistakes, maintaining most of the possession and pushing on. RFC initiated this pressure, however, as they were passive and only applied pressure when AMSG reached their final third. This strategy allowed AMSG to stay calm when transitioning from defense to offense. The boys in red were also effective on the right wing, where AMSG’s Lucus beat RFC’s Barajas in the individual battles to set up the cross. This back and forth-went on for half an hour.
In the 35′, an AMSG corner from the right that goes low into the box bounces off an RFC player’s hand, resulting in a penalty from the visitors. Sulaiman Bah converts it to the right, and AMSG is up 1-0. Afterward, the game’s pace remained the same, with AMSG having more control and more completed passes, and it was kept on the ground. RFC tried their direct style of play, which resulted in turnovers and passive pressure from defense and didn’t look intense apart from some moments of counterattacks. The half ends 1-0.
The second half begins, and RFC looks different from the first half as they start to apply offensive pressure to the AMSG defense. Now playing with more intensity, RFC pushes on and, in the 53′, gets a chance with a corner kick that ends up hitting the post. This turnaround wasn’t supported by the referee’s bias calls, where he favored fouls for AMSG over RFC.
In the 58′, AMSG gets a penalty after a tackle from behind in the box. Sulaiman Bah again converts for his second penalty to make it 2-0 for the visitors. The fans voiced their dismay to the referee over the calls made in favor of AMSG and the lack of calls on RFC. Afterward, AMSG shifted their game plan to bunker on defense and counterattack while RFC now pushed on to attack with two subs; Luka Lukic and Ethan Kovach.
Now, RFC is connecting passes, getting chances in the box, and correcting their first-half errors. In the 80′, RFC gets a free kick around the 30-yard line. The cross goes deep to the box, a pass saves the ball from going out, and Luka Lukic taps it in the net for RFC to cut the deficit in half.
They weren’t done yet as RFC flanked the right wing just three minutes after; a curing cross by Enzo Mauriz into the box finds Luka again as he heads it in for the tieing goal. The fans cheered on the home side as RFC was now more fueled to win the game. They were knocking on the door to get their third while AMSG couldn’t respond to the immense pressure of RFC.
Finally, RFC won a corner on the left side in stoppage time. The cross goes into the heart of the box, crowded with attackers and defenders. The ball lands on the ground in front of the goalkeeper, and in spectacular fashion, Andrew Portis chips in it for the winning goal. The crowd roars in excitement and standing ovations; the referee blows the final whistle, and Redlands completes the comeback 3-2. Luka Lukic was awarded man of the match.
Postgame
Redlands got their second win of the season and improved to 2-1-1. They now sit in third place in the Southwest division with 7 points. Their next game is at home against FC Tucson on Sunday, June 9th. AMSG suffered its first-season loss and has a 2-1-1 record. They are now in fourth place with 7 points. They will travel to sixth-place Capo FC on Wednesday.
Below are the three goals RFC scored, taken from the Sports Engine stream.