Portland Hearts of Pine v. One Knoxville: Three Thoughts
Hearts dealing with absences, plus two more thoughts.
Portland Hearts of Pine dropped their third straight game, losing 3-1 to One Knoxville on Friday night.
Here are three thoughts from the game.
Absences
Playing One Knoxville, who are now first in the league, at their home, where they are undefeated, was always going to be a difficult task. The rash of absences exacerbated that.
Jake Keegan led the line with Titus Washington and Azaad Liadi unavailable. Pat Langlois came into the midfield with Mikey Lopez and Shandon Wright playing left center back and right back, respectively.
It was a short bench for Hearts with Mickey Reilly (46’), Mo Mohamed (64’), Noah Kvifte (70’), and Khalid Hersi (90’+2) seeing minutes.
The new faces had positive moments, with Keegan scoring a goal and S. Wright coming close. That said, the team looked different, and they will hope to be at full strength as they push toward the playoffs.
Fight
Knoxville got on the scoreboard in the 38th minute when Kempes Tekiela converted a free kick from just above the arc. Interestingly, Tekiela hit the post during the run of play from a very similar spot three minutes earlier.
Hearts showed grit and had opportunities to equalize. S. Wright forced a big save in the 41st minute, Walter Varela had a 42nd-minute shot that went wide, and Masashi Wada fired from close range in the 56th minute but couldn’t beat the goalkeeper.
A miscue in the back—and what looks like a foul by Knoxville—put Hearts down 2-0.
Portland clawed one back when Keegan backheeled the ball into the net during a scrum in the box, a fitting tally given the nature of the game.
Knoxville put the game to bed in the 87th minute when Angelo Kell hit a picturesque volley.
Anticipation
The Friday night loss means that Hearts are still waiting to clinch a playoff spot during their inaugural season.
They could still punch their ticket this weekend if Forward Madison lose/draw vs. Chattanooga Red Wolves SC AND Greenville Triumph SC lose/draw vs. Union Omaha
Hearts are currently in sixth place in a very crowded table. With three games left to go—all at home—a lot can still happen.