2019 Premier Postgame Week 3

BDSL Premier Postgame Week 3

Clarence (2-0-0) 2 - Sharpshooters (2-0-0) 2
Both squads came into the BDSL Rumors Premier Game of the Week unbeaten.  Amherst Sharpshooters beat Southtowns and Willies, while Clarence beat both Wolves and BSC International.  Clarence lost starting GK Len Private to a red card against BSC International, leaving manager Mike Antkowiak to take over in net.
We spoke with a representative from Clarence Coyotes first: 

"Tough/grind it out kind of game for us. Sharpshooters are young and great on the ball. They could have had a couple more goals. We packed it in and tried to counter them with 5 key players missing with injures/vacation/FC Buffalo." 

Who was your best player?

"Antkowiak played great in goal for never playing before. Berardi was great on both goals. AC and Kenny played there hearts out at CB."

Who stood out for Amherst?

"Cody Rouse was fantastic for them and Zack Schmitz" 

You guys have been great so far this season. Will you be able to keep it up the rest of the way? 

"We will be in every game all season. We have a great team mentality this year then some years in the past." 

Amherst Sharpshooters had a similar take on the game:

"We had a lot of possession and created a lot of chances but our finishing was poor. Ahead 2-0 in the 88th min we should’ve come away with 3 points. Very disappointing result."

Who was your best player?

"Schmidt has a goal and assist for us. Riley Wagner played well in his first game. Braun and Martinez played well at CB."

Did anybody stand out for Clarence?

"Berardi almost singlehandedly managed to steal a point for Clarence. Kowi made a few good saves to keep them in the game."

You guys have been great so far this season.  Will you be able to keep it up the rest of the way?

"We’ve played okay, but our finishing has been off. We have quite a few new players this year so I think it’s just taking a little time for the chemistry to click in the final third. I think we’ll improve as the season goes along. I think it’s just taking a little time to get settled and get used to playing together."

Our Take: 
3 weeks into the season it seems like both squads will be contenders.  Amherst has gotten young legs in their squad, while Clarence seems to be finding the continuity that has helped them be successful in the Premier Division for many years.

Does Amherst have a player that can put in goals regularly like Brodfuehrer, Loncar, and Steele have in previous seasons?
Will Clarence continue to have a full squad every week, or will the season eventually wear on them?


Lackawanna FCY (2-0-0) 5 - Southtowns FPFC (0-2-0) 1

Lackawanna FCY has come out of the gates on fire, leading the league in goals for with 7, while Southtowns FPFC has struggled mightily, going without a point in the first two weeks of the season.  Unfortunately for Southtowns FPFC, it didn't get any better for them this week as they ran into BDSL's Premier buzzsaw.

We spoke with Southtowns first:

"Lackawanna is a very good team . they move the ball well and are extremely dangerous going forward, easily the best team that we have played against so far."

Who was your best player?

"our goalkeeper Ralph Grizanti believe it or not played rather well and make a couple of big saves early to keep it within reach"

Who stood out for Lackawanna?

"not one player really stood out from the rest because truthfully they are very well balanced but there absolute unit of a cb was very good and they had a very good tall white cam which i don’t know the number of."

Last week you guys said your previous results didn’t indicate the quality of your team. Do you still believe that or was Lackawanna just that good?

"Lackawanna is a very good side but i don’t believe that the score line reflects the kind of club we are. we are in a tough spot right now and we just need to dig out of it week by week"

Lackawanna FCY manager Taha Omar had nothing but praise for his squad after another impressive showing.

"the movement of last night game was fast , aggressive and intense from both teams, we were more organized and we settled into our style of play early ,our movement with the ball was great starts from our back line to midfield to offense, we capitalized on our scoring chance , our D were unbelievable .Southtown at moments they looked as if the finally found their team play but then they lose it quickly, they are young , fast and aggressive and they played hard to the end"

Who was your best player?

" its hard to say who was our best player , all players in all positions did great job. If I really have to pick a player it would be Zakaria because of the three goals ."

Did anybody stand out for SFPFC?

"Kabura Elias"

You guys have been great so far this season. Will you be able to keep it up the rest of the way?

"we are jelling together as a team our chemistry and fitness is getting better every game , if we stay healthy and the players show up on game day we will be able to keep it going and compete with top teams in our division that we will play in the coming weeks ."

Do you think SFPFC has what it takes to stay in Premier or do you think they are in trouble?

"Southtown FPFC have to make some adjustments to their style of play and must find couple of players to help them moving forward. BDSL Premier Division requires a settled style play and experience leadership on the field to survive relegation."

Our Take: 
This game was a tale of two teams headed in two opposite directions.  Lackawanna FCY had come out red hot, while SFPFC has come out ice cold.  The score line seems to accurately reflect each clubs season so far.

Can Southtowns FPFC be active during the transfer window and find some players to vault them from the relegation battle?
Will the issues that Lackawanna FCY have faced in previous years resurface? Will they deal with attendance and leadership issues, or is this the year that they put it all together and challenge for top of the league?   Will Zakaria Shaibi be this years Ali Shawish?


Celtic United (0-1-0) 4 - Queenston FC (0-1-1) 1

Celtic United has always had the roster, on paper, to keep up with any team in the Premier division.  They seem to struggle with numbers and end up lower than their potential.  Queenston FC is usually the opposite.  While player for player they may not win the league, they are always consistent and stout defensively, keeping them in games.  This week however, Celtic United lived up to their potential, while Queenston struggled to get going.
Our representative from Queenston FC shared his/her thoughts from yesterdays loss to United:

"Celtic United beat us in every phase of the game. They’re extremely dangerous when they bring a full team (I think they had 17 yesterday)."

Who was your best player?

"Our best player was probably Ross Suitor again. We had more dud than stud performers yesterday."

How about for Celtic United?

"They played a really good team game so no one in particular stood out because they all contributed well. I’d say maybe Myles Taylor stood out the most but they all did their thing"

You guys haven’t performed well compared to last season so far. What can we expect from Queenston the rest of the way?

"Not sure. We started slow last year too (0-1-2) and finished 6-1-1 down the stretch so we are hoping it’s a little bit of finding our footing. We could easily blame this on a lack of normal impact players being available (two defensive starters return from out of the Country in Week 5) but most teams deal with some level of attendance problems. And it’s really not even that; we have bodies at games. Something just feels off still this season, so we are tempering expectations for the time being until we play better collectively. It’s like 11 guys are on the field all thinking of a different plan moving the ball forward, and we are giving up the ball to easily in the wrong spots on the field."

Celtic United shared their thoughts with us after a strong showing:

" In addition to making some key tactical / lineup changes, we finally all played pretty well together. Queenston seemed to be a bit unorganized in the back, causing our attackers to have dozens of chances in first half. Netter did a good job had made some tremendous saves to keep the score line close"

Who was your best player?

"Was tough to narrow down to a single best player, as multiple guys played solid. Wiatrowski and Myles were very strong for us in the back, and have to give Keller an accolade as he had a brace"

Did anybody stand out for Queenston?

"Netter - as aforementioned he made several tremendous saves to keep them in the game."

 Is yesterday’s team more of what we should expect from you guys this season?

"Absolutely - I think we will continue to get stronger since we’ve added so many new players this season, we are finally beginning to click. From the first minute we appeared a much better side than the previous week."

Our Take: 
Another tale of two teams headed in opposite directions.  While defense has always been a strong point for Queenston FC, they seem to be struggling to maintain their form from previous seasons.  We have them fighting for their Premier lives, but we think they are better than their current record.  Celtic United is so hard to judge.  They have the talent, but not the commitment.  We are looking forward to their reschedule against BSC Raiders to see what team we can expect week to week.

Will anybody from Queenston step up and score some goals?  Can Queenston's experienced players step up and help get things moving?
Is this Celtic United team a top 6 team, or are they just outside looking in?  Is this the year that their leadership gets a consistent product on the pitch? 


BUSS (0-1-1) 0 - Willies (1-0-1) 0

BUSS, which may be the most disappointing club so far this season, only earning 1 point in 2 games, has struggled off the block, while Williamsville Willies seem to be enjoying their second season in Premier.  Both teams came into the game having only scored one goal in the first two games.  After the game, both teams had the same goals for as the game finished 0-0.
We caught up with Williamsville Willies first:

"I thought we controlled most of the game. Just could not put our chances away."

Who was your best player?

"I’d say our best players were our defense. They handled their offensive threats really well and really gave them no chances."

Did anybody stand out for BUSS?

" For BUSS Sherman was a threat as always. But their GK is who stood out. I don’t think it was their normal keeper but he shut us down."

You guys seem to be performing much better than last season, what do you account this to?

"Our off season pickups are the biggest reason why we have improved. We went out and looked for guys that would grind and play anywhere on the pitch. Everyone is settling in nicely and working hard"

You guys seem to have trouble putting the ball away. Do you think that will change throughout the season?

"Ben Noel will be coming back to play for us and him along with Fleck up top I think we will start to bag goals. If that doesn’t work I will just have to go out there and score the goals myself."

Our representative from BUSS had a fairly similar view of the game:

"We were not very good yesterday.  In fact we haven't been good at all this season.  We have points in the game where we look like ourselves, but then we miss that one connecting pass and have to start all over again.  We have been hit hard by the injury bug this summer.  5 of our "starters" have yet to see the field.  Our games this year have been mostly our veterans.  It just really sucks because we know we are better than we have played.  But I promise we will be better. 

Willies were pretty solid though.  They definitely had the better of us in the first half, by far.  We were trying a new formation and they ate us up.  Once we moved back to our normal formation, with wingers, we got the game back a bit.  Second half I feel like we were the better team but we couldn't find our way in the final third.  They moved the ball well in the midfield and their defense was strong.  Picking up Graham Harris was a great move for them.  He is just really strong and did pretty well with our forwards.  I was impressed by them for sure.  I think they will be much better than last year. 

Who was your best player?

"Hands down it was Tim Clark in goal.  He saved us a bunch of times with some very difficult saves.  I remember at least 2 near breakaways and a point blank shot he somehow got his right hand on to knock wide.  He was good on corners and free kicks as well.  Andre had an incredible game as well.  You would think he was the tallest guy on the field at times, winning headers over taller forwards.   Christian was good in the midfield."

Did anybody stand out for Willies?

"They had a couple guys that I really liked.  #9 Ian Harris was good and composed on the ball.  As I mentioned before, Graham was tough to beat.  He had a couple great battles with Hunter Sherman.  I love watching those guys fight each other for the ball.  Their other CB was good too."

Where does BUSS go from here?  If the season ended right now you guys would miss the playoffs and would be fighting relegation.

"It's a good thing we have a lot more season to go then.  Listen, we are not performing well, that's a given.  But we are still one of the top teams in Premier.  We have been missing some key players all season.  Musse, Hunter Walsh, Wes, Nate, Bryce, none of those guys have played a game with us yet.  We will be better."

Our Take: 
Willies have been good.  Their additions have made them a much stronger team.  We don't quite think they are there yet, but definitely a team to keep an eye on.  An attacker with a nose for goal would be a great addition during the transfer window.  We put them in the middle of the table, safe from relegation.  BUSS is still a dangerous team.  They may have lost a bit compared to previous years, but the roster is still top notch.  We think they finish right around 5-7 in the league.

As with Queenston, can Willies start scoring goals and putting teams away?  Teams with young rosters tend to have attendance issues by the end of the season.  Can they win a couple games they maybe shouldn't and surprise the league?
Can BUSS' injured players get them back to form.  Will the return of some of their players solve whatever issues they have on the field? Are the older guys on BUSS getting too old for Premier?
 

Pendleton United (0-1-1) 0 - BSC Raiders (1-0-0) 3

League and Tehel Cup Champions from Summer 2018 were able to find their form late in the game to dispatch of newly promoted Pendleton United.  
Pendleton United had this to say:

"Pretty even first half, they had some players late from the FC Buffalo match, which helped them get the late winner. Obviously they’re the cream of the crop but we didn’t look terrible. Also, one of the most unclassy teams we’ve played."

Who was your best player?

" our entire back line"

Did anybody stand out for BSC?

" Ryan Walter. also his dad taught half of our team at starpoint. (fun fact)."

It hasn’t been a good start for you guys so far this summer. Can you guys find your form soon? Or do you think you just ran into a couple really good teams?

"we’ve definitely ran into good teams. Last two games we’ve found our footing in the league. expect Yemen to be a top 4 team this year and obviously BSC is a class above everyone else. our first half of the season is incredibly difficult, so we have to focus on finishing the second half of the season well."

Once again, BSC Raiders are the only team without a twitter account, so we have no responses from them.

Our Take: 
Pendleton United has done about what this writer has expected.  They may have even done better than expected against two of the better teams this season.  We are interested to find out how they fare against a team like Wolves or Celtic United.  We still think they will end up rounding out the bottom three clubs and will have to fight tooth and nail to escape relegation.

Can the mighty lions of Pendleton claw their way out of relegation?  Will they continue to get decent numbers to each game?
Will BSC Raiders ever get with the times and get a twitter account to answer our questions?
 

BSC International (0-1-1) 4 - Wolves (1-1-0) 1

In what would seem to be a bit of an upset, BSC International handled Wolves on the back of 3 goals from Mo Hussien.

"We returned to our usual formation after positioning errors against Clarence and it paid off. The game played even through the first 45, with the difference being our first goal, which came from pressing their back line. Wolves’ defensive line was pushed up high, which created a lot of chances on the counter. Ultimately we beat them with speed on simple through balls. I’m betting they feel a lot like we did after Clarence; game plan broke down."

Who was your best player?

"Mo or Jenaro. Both were essential for the win and they had a hand in all of the goals."

Did anybody stand out for Wolves?

"Not great on names but their left wing was dangerous throughout the game."

Who are you guys? Are you the team that controlled BUSS and beat up on wolves? Or the team that was handled by Clarence? What should we expect from BSC Inter?

"We are both. We know we are playing for survival rather than trophies, and that requires us to be more strategic with the lineup/formation and pick our times getting forward carefully. The execution hasn’t been consistent, and in this division that can result in a 3 goal swing. The important thing is that we have grabbed the points we were looking for out of then first 3 games and our offense is getting more dangerous."

 Wolves did not have much to add today:

"We played like (expletive deleted)"

Who was your best player?

'Kyle Kleckner"

Did anybody stand out for BSC Inter?

"Mo Hussein"

A disappointing result for you guys yesterday. Are you guys inconsistent or would you consider it growing pains for the club?

"We just didn’t execute/ made a plethora of dumb mistakes."

Thanks, anything else you would like to add?

"No"

Our Take: 
BSC International is hard to pin down.  The addition of Hussein has helped their offense, and the defense was able to control Wolves.  We need a few more games to predict where they will end up.  Wolves had a great game last week against Southtowns, but they are bottom of the table.  We see them finishing middle of the pack, not really in the relegation battle.

Which BSC International team can we see week in and week out?  Is it the team that stopped BUSS and Wolves?  Or the team that was beaten soundly by Clarence?
Wolves are in the same boat.  Are they the team that throttled Southtowns?  Or the team that played BSC International and Clarence?

 

That's a wrap on Week 3 of BDSL Premier Postgame.  Enjoy the holiday next weekend!