Individual errors were the story on the evening, as Portland Hearts of Pine suffered a difficult 4-1 home defeat to a Sarasota Paradise who are on a hot streak, now seven undefeated and previously having scored six goals their last match out.
An extremely long ball over the top from Sarasota's keeper forced Jaden Jones-Riley into making an attempted clearance after a miscommunication between him and Hunter Morse; misjudging the ball and nodding it out for a corner instead of controlling it.
Sarasota would take the lead through Mukisa Kiingi off that corner in the fourth minute.
Just three minutes later, Hearts would find themselves pinned in deep after a couple of failed clearances. Not immediately pressuring their opposition, Paradise's Sandor Roed had tons of time to lift his head and put a nice curler into the net to double his side's lead after just seven minutes.
In the 19th minute, an excellent defensive read by Diego Letayf Escutia stripped the Florida side of the ball as he fed Jay Tee Kamara. The right winger went on a brilliant individual dribbling run to score, bringing Portland back within one goal.
Hearts did eventually settle into the match, cleaning up their play and organizing their pressing scheme. As the forward most four, Aboubacar Camara, Diego Gonzalez, Walter Varela, and Kamara, got used to each other, they did a nice job trading off getting defensive pressure on the ball.
From that moment on, Hearts seemed to do an excellent job generating chances through isolating Kamara on the right and via combination play between Gonzalez and Eiji Hata down the left.
A series of chances in the 28th, 34th and 37th minutes were all proof of life for Portland - all close, but none finding the back of the net for a much-needed equalizer.
The momentum would melt shortly before the 40th minute as Sarasota would find its way back into the match, putting heavy pressure down Portland's right-hand side, which would eventually lead to its third goal, as Jones-Riley was unable to hold his man off to prevent the cutback leading to the goalscoring shot.
The second half didn't start off much better, as Romain Gall netted Sarasota's fourth goal on the night in the 51st minute.
Things settled out for most of the second half - not many clear-cut chances for either side as they felt each other out after each substitution. Multiple yellows would come out at the death, as Serigne Mbacke Faye got sent off in the first minute of stoppage time, though no further damage was done to the scoreline.
Lineup
Head Coach Bobby Murphy made 3 changes from last time out at Chattanooga Red Wolves.
Jaden Jones-Riley, Walter Varela, and Diego Letayf Escutia enter the lineup for Mo Mohamed, Ali Wright and Michel Poon-Angeron.
Josh Drack made his return to the matchday squad for the first time since August 8th after spending eight games out injured with a lower body injury.
Key Moments
4' POR 0-1 SAR: Goal. Sarasota hits a corner into heavy traffic. Mukisa Kiigni volleys with his right to loop the ball into Hunter Morse's left-side netting.
7' POR 0-2 SAR: Goal. Sander Roed has plenty of time to pick out Morse's left-side netting after a possession initially lost by Jones-Riley.
16' POR 0-2 SAR: Save! Morse stretches high to push a corner out of the area of uncertainty.
19' POR 1-2 SAR: Goal! Jay Tee Kamara does an excellent job patiently dancing through half of Sarasota's outfield, getting inside the box, then slipping a left-footed shot inside the left post.
28' POR 1-2 SAR: Chance! Walter Varela turns on the jets to steal a ball off backpedaling Sarasota. He's able to pick his head up to find a wide-open Kamara, but his shot is hit well over.
34' POR 1-2 SAR: Chance! Jay Tee Kamara takes a shot from a tight angle on the right side of the box, and it flashes just a bit past the far post.
37' POR 1-2 SAR: Chance! Kamara puts in a great cross that lands on Letayf Escutia's head. His backward flick-on only goes just wide of the far post yet again.
42' POR 1-3 SAR: Goal. Jones-Riley is a bit too slow to the ball inside the box and can't hold his opposite off. They manage to poke a cutback away from both Jones-Riley and a charging Hunter Morse for an open shot on goal.
46' POR 1-3 SAR: Sub. Josh Drack makes his return to the field in place of Jones-Riley.
51' POR 1-4 SAR: Goal. One-time US Men's National Teamer Romain Gall puts Sarasota's fourth past Hunter Morse.
62' POR 1-4 SAR: Chance! Kamara takes a nice shot from the left just inside the box, managing to keep it on frame, but the keeper easily grabs it.
64' POR 1-4 SAR: Subs. Lopez and Rodriguez Gentile in for Letayf Escutia and Varela.
76' POR 1-4 SAR: Subs. Georgallides and Green in for Gonzalez and Kidd.
90'+1 POR 1-4 SAR: Red card. Mbacke Faye gets sent off on a second yellow.
Quick Thoughts
Kamara's Still Cooking
Despite the result, Jay Tee Kamara, ever mercurial, has managed to find consistency in his last three games out, with goal contributions in two of them.
His impact certainly hasn't been limited to box score stats, though. Hearts' offense has found a consistent outlet in Kamara, who has continued to show that he's learning to pick his head up and move the ball to other teammates at the right time.
Combine sensibility in picking his moments with his reinvigorated urgency to help Portland's defensive press and good off-ball movement, and you're going to end up with a player who can continue to make an impact on the game in moments like the goal he scored tonight, but also generating other good chances that will eventually find their way in the net.
Progression Progresses, Defense Regresses
Having been used most often at left wing and attacking midfield, Matteo Kidd was dropped into the double pivot alongside Diego Letayf Escutia. This change resulted in a bit more cohesiveness between the midfield and attack; Kidd's motor allowed him to simply be in more places than most others in that position would.
His willingness to absorb pressure on the ball allowed Portland to find some central thrust that it has been lacking the last several games. Letayf Escutia did a relatively decent job shielding the backline without sitting directly on top of it. A couple of timely tackles aided Hearts of Pine's attack, especially directly on Jay Tee Kamara's lone goal for the home side.
However, this forward momentum unfortunately equated in a bit of defensive vulnerability. While the midfield pivot's mobility helped plenty in defensive presses, it also ended up leaving a bit larger a gap than in previous games directly ahead of the backline.
Though individual errors were truly the story on the evening on all four goals – failed clearances and failed tackles were parts of every concession – there were also moments where playing with just two through midfield led to vulnerability on quick switches as Portland's pivot both ranged to one side to assist on re-presses... in one case partially leading to the fourth goal, though a missed sliding clearance may have prevented the goal.
Notable Quote
Matteo Kidd, on what it meant to wear the Captain's armband for the Hearts: "It's an absolute honor," he said. "I'm just sad we didn't get the result. I'm really disappointed personally in myself and let a lot of people down today"
Player Spotlight
Jay Tee Kamara had himself an OK evening despite the result. Scoring Portland's lone goal, having another couple of good opportunities and creating one or two others, he was certainly the Hearts player who showed the most in a disappointing evening on most fronts as Portland saw its already slim playoff chances grow even more distant.
