Portland Hearts of Pine 1, FC Naples 0: Four Thoughts
Chemistry is building, plus three more thoughts.
Portland Hearts of Pine extended their unbeaten run to seven (5-0-2) when they defeated FC Naples 1-0 on Sunday night.
A 39th-minute penalty by Ollie Wright and three saves from Hunter Morse were enough to secure full points.
Here are four thoughts from the game.
Chemistry Is Building
The home side applied pressure early on with Nathan Messer hitting the post in the 5th minute and Titus Washington forcing a big save in the 36th.
Early in the season, it felt like the bulk of Hearts’ attack ran through Wright and Messer. While those two are still producing magic moments, others are joining in on the fun.
Look at the free-flowing play that happened in the 6th minute.
Masashi Wada, now settled in a more advanced role, has quick feet and good movement. Washington is more than a target, as his darting runs are effective in disorganizing the opponent. Walter Varela and Jay Tee Kamara are both good options opposite of Wright.
In short, the attack is fun to watch.
A Big Win
Sunday’s win was immense as Naples were unbeaten in ten (6-0-4).
Collecting full points against a direct competitor—Hearts are now four points below Naples in the standings with two games in hand—is massive. With playoffs looking more certain, attention wanders to the idea that Hearts could host at least one postseason game at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
Yes, Hearts’ only goal came from the spot on Sunday, but, as my colleague Shawn Fecteau noted, Naples are stingy defensively.
To get a goal and secure a shutout in a busy three-game week is noteworthy.
Individual Shout-Outs
Wada deserves more ink as the 28-year-old created two chances, was 6/11 on ground duels, and drew five fouls.
A testament to his skill, Jake Dengler was forced to foul Wada in the 80th minute to stop a counterattack. This resulted in the defender’s second yellow.
Mo Mohamed created two chances and had nine defensive contributions during his 90 minutes.
Right back has been a position of flux this year after Jaden Jones-Riley went down with an ACL injury. Colby Quiñones has provided some solid shifts, but he’s also dealt with injuries. Mohamed made his case for more minutes on Sunday.
Finally, Morse deserves recognition for helping Hearts collect their fifth shutout of the season. The netminder leads USL League One in saves (68).
A Special Team
The roar of the Dirigo Union was heard 20 minutes after the final whistle, as the diehard fans fervently supported goalkeeper coach Yuta Nomura’s daughter as she dribbled the ball across the goal line.
It’s little moments like this that serve as reminders of what makes Hearts so special.
A technical difficulty delayed the singing of the National Anthem. Sure enough, the Dirgio Union stepped in to aid in the pregame tradition. The on-field singers pointed and smiled as the fans sang.
After the game, players and staff were seen interacting with fans around the stadium, ultimately gathering in front of the supporters’ section. Here, they recognized the fans before the fans awarded a Player of the Game.
The community aspect of Hearts has always been there. Now the results are there too. It’s a special thing to see.