RECAP: Armada Dominates Key Stats But Falls Short to Rayo OKC

Mike McCall, ArmadaFC.com | May 7, 2016
Photo by SE Sports Media

Final Stats

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Twenty minutes after his side’s 1-0 loss to Rayo OKC, Jacksonville Armada midfielder Pascal Millien stood just outside the tunnel at Community First Park.

Arms crossed, leaning on a fence, he surveyed a bright, beautiful scene that summed up everything missing from the club’s 0-2 home stand.

Fireworks.

The thunderous, joyful release that the Armada hunted for 180 minutes this week only came in the form of pyrotechnics. For the second game in a row, they weren’t able to convert massive advantages in possession, passing and shots into a goal.

Visiting Rayo OKC did, riding a 70^th minute header from substitute and former U.S. men’s national teamer Robbie Findley to victory in front of 5,313 fans. That was one of only two shots on target, and they held just 33 percent of possession.

The home side took 19 shots (only three on goal), completed 86 percent of their 576 passes and connected on 24 percent of their whopping 42 crosses.

But the only number that mattered was zero.

“I don’t have an answer right now, to be honest with you,” Armada head coach Tony Meola said, straining his voice over the booming show outside. “We create that many chances, and you’d think by luck, you’d get a deflection or something. We couldn’t find the back of the net.”

And because of it, the Boys in Blue (1W-1D-3L, 4 pts., 10th NASL Spring) are decidedly on the outside of the 10-game NASL Spring Season title race, sitting in next-to-last place thanks to two straight home losses and an overall goal-less streak of 254 minutes.

They came close to breaking that, most notably when forwards Junior Sandoval and Matt Fondy played a nearly-perfect one-two in the 65^th minute. Sandoval popped the ball up near the top of the box, then took off for the goal and ran onto a perfect headed pass from Fondy. But he couldn’t control his shot, blasting it over the top.

Just five minutes later, after Meola added some attacking juice in the form of forward Alex Dixon for holding midfielder Lucas Scaglia, disaster struck.

OKC’s Michel sent in a long cross from the left, and 'keeper Miguel Gallardo rushed out to punch it away. But Findley beat him to it and buried the ball in the net.

“[Michel] put one of those crosses up that makes you make decisions,” Gallardo said. “It was a tough one to make, I made it and [Findley] beat me to the ball. I need to do better.”

That placed the Armada into all-out attack mode, desperate for a goal.

Meola made another change — forward Derek Gebhard for fullback Patrick Otte — that effectively gave Jacksonville five attackers and a three-man back line.

But even that wasn’t enough.

Fondy had the last-gasp chance in stoppage time, but his header was deflected wide, and center back Mechack Jérôme’s shot on the ensuing corner was blocked.

Given that several players called the OKC match a “must-win” after losing to FC Edmonton on Wednesday, the disappointment was obvious afterward.

But a few bright spots — like the return of Scaglia to the midfield and much sharper delivery of crosses and corners — will have to be built upon before a trip to one of the league’s best teams, Minnesota United FC.

“We can’t let it drag us down,” midfielder, captain and Farah & Farah Man of the Match Richie Ryan said. “If we want to walk around with our heads down, we’re not going to enjoy our football.

“At the end of the day, we have a profession that’s enjoyable. We come to work and kick the ball around every day. If we can’t enjoy that, we’re not going to enjoy anything. We have to dust ourselves off. We can’t let the two defeats in four days affect us. We have to get back on the training pitch and back to winning games.”

MATCH REPORT:

Starting XI:

JAX (4-3-3): Gallardo, Bahner, Ruthven, Jerome, Otte (Gebhard 74'), Scaglia (Dixon 68'), Ryan, Perea, Sandoval, Fondy, Barrow (Millien 60')

OKC (4-3-3): Fernandes, Hernandez, Juanan, Danso, Kimura, Michel, Boateng, Pecka (Velasquez 68'), Samaras (Findley 57'), Menjivar, Forbes

Scoring Summary:

OKC: Findley (Michel) 70’

Discipline:

OKC: Fernandes 53’ (caution)

Attendance: 5,313