 Baltimore MD - After losing to Charlotte last weekend, Crystal Palace were hoping to come back to Ludlow and bounce back with a gritty performance like the one two weeks ago that saw them come from behind twice and steal all three points from Western Mass, despite being a man down for the final 30 minutes.
As on their last encounter at Lusitano stadium (and for the third match on the trot), Palace gave up a goal soon after kickoff - on this occasion, it was 9 minutes into the game when the ever-dangerous Federico Molinari made a nice run to  the byline, sent a delicate, chipped cross over Brian Rowland to an unmarked Jeff Deren who headed from all of one yard out to make it 1-0 Western Mass. That's where the similarities to Palace's previous visit ended.
Apart from the first five minutes or so of the first half, the Baltimore side seemed a step off the pace. The Pioneers took full advantage, dominating the first 45 minutes and creating several good chances, while Palace continually gave up possession and rarely threatened to penetrate a well organised Western Mass defense.
The Pioneers should have made it 2-0 in the twentieth minute when Molinari's corner was met by the head of James Greenslit, but he managed to bounce his effort over the goal from very close range. Palace had Brian Rowland to thank for keeping the deficit to a single goal going into the break. In injury time, Molinari's free kick found Anthony Augustine whose header looked certain to cross the line, but the Baltimore 'keeper pulled off a fantastic, diving save.
The beginning of the second half didn't see any change in Palace's fortunes, so on 61 minutes, the coaches had Carlos Morales on  the sideline ready to come in to catalyse the Baltimore attack. Before Morales even had a chance to step onto the pitch, another cross from the left caught the Palace defense out of position, allowing the Pioneers' bulky centre forward Neil Krause to launch a fierce shot from the vicinity of the penalty spot. Rowland got his right hand to the ball but it had too much power behind it and the home side were 2-0 up with 28 minutes left.
Soon afterwards, Palace Co-Managers Pete Medd and Jim Cherneski made two more substitution in an effort to change the game's momentum. The strategy gave Palace more energy and movement up top and in the 83rd minute, after some good work from Larry Mark and Bryan Harkin, Pat Healey found himself with the loose ball just outside the area and fired the ball just inside Matt Glaeser's left post to give Palace a glimmer of hope.
The Pioneers weren't about to sit back - just two minutes later, Jeff Deren found big Neil Krause just inside the penalty area. Palace right back David Feazell slid in to block Krause's shot but the ball ricocheted off the defender's leg, looping high over Brian Rowland and into the net to extinguish any thoughts of a Palace comeback.
After the game, Palace Co-Manager Pete Medd was clearly a little concerned: "We're conceding soft goals inside our box and we can't continue to do that."
"Players are getting a little bit too comfortable - instead of doing the hard work to get to where they need to be positionally, they succumb to mental laziness." observed fellow Co-Manager Jim Cherneski. As for the effect of the second half substitutions,  Cherneski said: "We needed a spark in the team, there wasn't a lot of urgency going forward. Carlos [Morales] came on and played inspired, so did Pat Healey and I thought Larry Mark did well."
Medd ended his comments with stern words for the players: "We're not going to continue giving up those soft goals, it's just not going to happen - not if players want to be here on this team."
Palace return home to take on the reigning USL2 champion Harrisburg City Islanders at UMBC Stadium on Sunday June 8th at 5:30pm - you can buy tickets for that game here. They then hop on a plane the next day for Tuesday's US Open Cup 1st round clash with the L.A. Legends. |
