Before the start of the game, the soccer guru was commenting to the people in the press box area about the
referee crew that was going to officiate the game. The soccer guru just gave his opinion on how the center
referee had a tendency to let games of this magnitude get a little too physical.
The soccer guru said this as it has been the soccer guru's experience that even though this official is a good
referee, but tends to let the players get too rough towards the end of games. The side officials for the game were
also in the soccer guru's opinion unseasoned or not up to par with the officiating needed for the game on hand.
All these factors would also come into play as the night would go on.
The game started out with United South taking the first shot on goal from center circle as they hoped to catch
the Mustangs' goalkeeper Miguel Caballero off guard. Caballero was attentive to this play as his focus was on the
ball from the get go. The shot was off target but Caballero moved well in the goal area to make sure the ball
cleared out.
Once Caballero placed the down, he sent a rocket kick past midfield that the extremely fast Mustangs midfield
quickly moved forward to get a quick shot on goal. The Mustangs shot taken by Adolfo Gallegos almost found it's
mark if it wasn't for the quick reactions from South goalkeeper Saul De Los Santos stellar save. So just like that
we had two goal scoring chances in less the minute. This was going to be an very exciting game where both
teams were going to go all out to get that important victory.
Both teams had numerous opportunities to score but the two goalkeepers made sure that the game remained
scoreless to this point. South was gaining momentum as their talented midfield of team captain Jorge Vasquez,
Irving San Martin, Eric De Los Santos and Mario "Pumita" Contreras were controlling possession and tempo the
first half.
The South midfield unit work well together to get their high octane offense in gear as they constantly fed
passes to South forwards Orlando Alvarado and Serafin Perez. If the South midfield was not passing they were
closing off passing lanes and helping out on their defense. These action had the Mustangs team on it's heels
and bewildered for most of the first half. Whatever offensive chances the Mustangs did have, the South defense
of Jose Olguin, Jesse Magana, Joel Garza and Jonathan Collazo made plays to limit shots on goal.
Things got worse for the Mustangs as all that South offensive pressure was beginning to crack the stingy
Mustang defense of Jesus Perez, Martin Maldonado, Alberto Garcia and Gerardo Cantu. South started a play all
the way from a goal kick from their keeper Saul De Los Santos who connected on a pass to his older brother Eric
De Los Santos out on the wing.
Once Eric De Los Santos received the ball, he made a move towards the inside where he passed it to center
midfielder Jorge Vasquez. Once Vasquez had the possession, he made a move towards the sideline where he
passed it to Orlando Alvarado. The ball got to Alvarado's fast feet where he blew by the Mustang defense and
changed the point of the attack to the other side. South's Serafin Perez made a great diagonal run at the ball and
controlled as he weaved thru the Mustang defense.
The defense was so focused on Perez and Alvarado that they failed to mark Irving San Martin making a run
towards the box. San Martin received the pass from Perez and San Martin shot it to the far post past Nixon's
Caballero's fingertips for the first score of the game. So midway thru the first half South was up 1-0.
After this goal, the game took another level as the Mustangs were trying to stop all that South speed with
physicality. The way you slow a fast team down is by stalling the game and getting a body on the players moving
the ball. The Mustangs started doing this and momentum was slowly switching sides.
The South team not to let momentum switch were also doing everything possible to keep possession and
control the midfield through hard knocks and hard slides. All this physical play led to words between players and
taunting from the stands. The officials decided to let the game continue at this physical level and finally towards
the end of the half there were some yellow cards issued for both teams. South got the most yellow cards as the
half drew to a close and the game still 1-0 in favor of the Panthers.
The second half started with the Mustangs playing a very energetic style of play. They decided to use their
creativity and speed on the wings to seize the ball away from the Panthers. The Mustangs midfield of Jonathan
Garza, Ed Pireles, Jonathan Gallegos and Nicolas Ramirez were flying by the South midfield.
This momentum shift gave Nixon forwards Alejandro Espinoza and Adolfo Gallegos the space and confidence
to led the attack. Shot after shot went towards the South goal but no shot went in. The Mustangs had turned the
tables on the Panthers so it was now South that was on their heels and confused as the second half went forward.
As the second half progressed, the Mustangs were inching closer to a goal. The center official called a
dubious foul but picked up his hand to announce an indirect kick. The rule of an indirect kick is that it must have
touched two different players for it to be a valid play on goal. The Mustangs player made a direct shot that went
into the goal for the apparent score .
But wait....it only touched one player and then tempers flew. The Mustangs fans were up in arms, and yelling at
the officials. The Mustangs team, and coaches were upset with the officiating as they felt they had been cheated
of a legitimate goal. Those in the press box saw the official raise his hand so we understood but those on the
field didn't. The center referee explained to the Nixon coach the reason why the goal was disallowed, and to his
dismay...the goal was nullified and play continued.
The reaction from both teams got more and more physical as both understood that time was ticking. The
officiating was letting too many errant kicks, and flying elbows take control and raise tempers. More yellow cards
were issued but this only heighten the already elevated emotions of the game. The emotions reached a
tumultuous peak when another controversial call was made by the officiating crew.
There was a corner kicked called in favor of the Mustangs. The Mustangs took the corner kick and the South
defense cleared the ball out to just a few feet above the half moon of the goal area. That's where Jesus Perez
kicked a powerful shot past South's keeper De Los Santos for the apparent score.
The Nixon faithful celebrated, but the play was blown dead as there was an apparent infraction called. The
side official raised the flag and called an infraction. The center official went over to confer with the side official
and the infraction call stood. The Nixon side went crazy in disbelief and anger. The Nixon players and coaches
were arguing with the side official and the center referee as why the goal was overturned.
The officials said that it was because the Nixon forwards obstructed the view of the South goalkeeper. Now
there is no rule in ANY soccer rule book that says that you can not obstruct a view from a goalkeeper. The Nixon
coach pleaded his case while getting on the field. The South coach also got onto the field to make sure that the
call was not overturned. Both these coaches on the field should have been given a yellow card as the rule states
that no coach should be on the field of play. No cards were given to the coaches.
The Nixon team tried it's hardest to overcome these two overturned goals, but seemed almost impossible with
the way the officiating was going. The Nixon fans were screaming obscenities at the officials, and especially the
side official. The game clock was ticking and more players were being hacked by others players as emotions and
anger took effect. The game ended with South winning 1-0 over Nixon but the action did not end there.
As soon as the game ended, the majority of the Nixon players charged at the officials, and had to be
contained. There is a usual line up where both teams shake hands after the game, but even that ended in
players trash talking, and tempers flared even more.
There were Nixon parents that jumped the fence, and got in the officials face and cursed at them. Fans were
still screaming profanities as well as players towards the officials. Order had to be restored as security separated
the officials from the players and parents. After a few tense moments, emotions calmed down and people started
to leave the stadium.
The soccer guru spoke with South Head Coach Willie Santos about the game. He said "games like this always
have a lot emotion and passion. We both came out to get the victory, and we both played extremely hard to get
the win. We came out on top this game but the game did take a very physical tone".
The soccer guru asked Coach Santos about his team's performance, he said "we played a very good first
half, but got dominated by Nixon in the second half. We had good play from all the team but Nixon has a very
good and talented team". The soccer guru asked his thoughts about the importance of this game he said "we still
12 games more to go. There is still 36 points up there for us to grab and hopefully get into the playoffs. This
game is important but there are all important".
The soccer guru spoke to Nixon Head Coach Julian Rodriguez Jr about the game, he said " well I don't want to
say anything that will get me in any trouble later on so I will just say that we worked hard all week to get a victory,
but then stuff like this happens. I don't know what else to say. We had two goals taken away and that always
takes your team's heart and momentum away".
The soccer guru asked him about his team's performance, he said "we did not have a good first half, but we
outplayed them the entire second half. We showed that we were the better team but that doesn't always reflect
on the scoreboard".
The overview of the game is that this game was way too physical for anyone's liking. The speed of play was
wonderful for both teams as they both have very fast, and very talented mid fielders, but all that hacking showed
the ugly side of soccer. The officiating crew needed to do a better job of controlling the game, and especially all
the trash talking being spoken by the players. The true stars here were the world class saves that both
goalkeepers had to make a 1--0 game.
SOCCER GURU'S TIP OF THE DAY:
Fans do not belong in the field at any time during or after a game. Fans need to understand that
human error IS, and ALWAYS will be part of this beautiful game. When a fan enters the field he/she is
trespassing, and that is a criminal offense that can lead to jail time, but more importantly.....you being
banned from seeing your son/daughter from playing soccer. Hopefully those fans realize that it's still
just a game, and not life or death.
referee crew that was going to officiate the game. The soccer guru just gave his opinion on how the center
referee had a tendency to let games of this magnitude get a little too physical.
The soccer guru said this as it has been the soccer guru's experience that even though this official is a good
referee, but tends to let the players get too rough towards the end of games. The side officials for the game were
also in the soccer guru's opinion unseasoned or not up to par with the officiating needed for the game on hand.
All these factors would also come into play as the night would go on.
The game started out with United South taking the first shot on goal from center circle as they hoped to catch
the Mustangs' goalkeeper Miguel Caballero off guard. Caballero was attentive to this play as his focus was on the
ball from the get go. The shot was off target but Caballero moved well in the goal area to make sure the ball
cleared out.
Once Caballero placed the down, he sent a rocket kick past midfield that the extremely fast Mustangs midfield
quickly moved forward to get a quick shot on goal. The Mustangs shot taken by Adolfo Gallegos almost found it's
mark if it wasn't for the quick reactions from South goalkeeper Saul De Los Santos stellar save. So just like that
we had two goal scoring chances in less the minute. This was going to be an very exciting game where both
teams were going to go all out to get that important victory.
Both teams had numerous opportunities to score but the two goalkeepers made sure that the game remained
scoreless to this point. South was gaining momentum as their talented midfield of team captain Jorge Vasquez,
Irving San Martin, Eric De Los Santos and Mario "Pumita" Contreras were controlling possession and tempo the
first half.
The South midfield unit work well together to get their high octane offense in gear as they constantly fed
passes to South forwards Orlando Alvarado and Serafin Perez. If the South midfield was not passing they were
closing off passing lanes and helping out on their defense. These action had the Mustangs team on it's heels
and bewildered for most of the first half. Whatever offensive chances the Mustangs did have, the South defense
of Jose Olguin, Jesse Magana, Joel Garza and Jonathan Collazo made plays to limit shots on goal.
Things got worse for the Mustangs as all that South offensive pressure was beginning to crack the stingy
Mustang defense of Jesus Perez, Martin Maldonado, Alberto Garcia and Gerardo Cantu. South started a play all
the way from a goal kick from their keeper Saul De Los Santos who connected on a pass to his older brother Eric
De Los Santos out on the wing.
Once Eric De Los Santos received the ball, he made a move towards the inside where he passed it to center
midfielder Jorge Vasquez. Once Vasquez had the possession, he made a move towards the sideline where he
passed it to Orlando Alvarado. The ball got to Alvarado's fast feet where he blew by the Mustang defense and
changed the point of the attack to the other side. South's Serafin Perez made a great diagonal run at the ball and
controlled as he weaved thru the Mustang defense.
The defense was so focused on Perez and Alvarado that they failed to mark Irving San Martin making a run
towards the box. San Martin received the pass from Perez and San Martin shot it to the far post past Nixon's
Caballero's fingertips for the first score of the game. So midway thru the first half South was up 1-0.
After this goal, the game took another level as the Mustangs were trying to stop all that South speed with
physicality. The way you slow a fast team down is by stalling the game and getting a body on the players moving
the ball. The Mustangs started doing this and momentum was slowly switching sides.
The South team not to let momentum switch were also doing everything possible to keep possession and
control the midfield through hard knocks and hard slides. All this physical play led to words between players and
taunting from the stands. The officials decided to let the game continue at this physical level and finally towards
the end of the half there were some yellow cards issued for both teams. South got the most yellow cards as the
half drew to a close and the game still 1-0 in favor of the Panthers.
The second half started with the Mustangs playing a very energetic style of play. They decided to use their
creativity and speed on the wings to seize the ball away from the Panthers. The Mustangs midfield of Jonathan
Garza, Ed Pireles, Jonathan Gallegos and Nicolas Ramirez were flying by the South midfield.
This momentum shift gave Nixon forwards Alejandro Espinoza and Adolfo Gallegos the space and confidence
to led the attack. Shot after shot went towards the South goal but no shot went in. The Mustangs had turned the
tables on the Panthers so it was now South that was on their heels and confused as the second half went forward.
As the second half progressed, the Mustangs were inching closer to a goal. The center official called a
dubious foul but picked up his hand to announce an indirect kick. The rule of an indirect kick is that it must have
touched two different players for it to be a valid play on goal. The Mustangs player made a direct shot that went
into the goal for the apparent score .
But wait....it only touched one player and then tempers flew. The Mustangs fans were up in arms, and yelling at
the officials. The Mustangs team, and coaches were upset with the officiating as they felt they had been cheated
of a legitimate goal. Those in the press box saw the official raise his hand so we understood but those on the
field didn't. The center referee explained to the Nixon coach the reason why the goal was disallowed, and to his
dismay...the goal was nullified and play continued.
The reaction from both teams got more and more physical as both understood that time was ticking. The
officiating was letting too many errant kicks, and flying elbows take control and raise tempers. More yellow cards
were issued but this only heighten the already elevated emotions of the game. The emotions reached a
tumultuous peak when another controversial call was made by the officiating crew.
There was a corner kicked called in favor of the Mustangs. The Mustangs took the corner kick and the South
defense cleared the ball out to just a few feet above the half moon of the goal area. That's where Jesus Perez
kicked a powerful shot past South's keeper De Los Santos for the apparent score.
The Nixon faithful celebrated, but the play was blown dead as there was an apparent infraction called. The
side official raised the flag and called an infraction. The center official went over to confer with the side official
and the infraction call stood. The Nixon side went crazy in disbelief and anger. The Nixon players and coaches
were arguing with the side official and the center referee as why the goal was overturned.
The officials said that it was because the Nixon forwards obstructed the view of the South goalkeeper. Now
there is no rule in ANY soccer rule book that says that you can not obstruct a view from a goalkeeper. The Nixon
coach pleaded his case while getting on the field. The South coach also got onto the field to make sure that the
call was not overturned. Both these coaches on the field should have been given a yellow card as the rule states
that no coach should be on the field of play. No cards were given to the coaches.
The Nixon team tried it's hardest to overcome these two overturned goals, but seemed almost impossible with
the way the officiating was going. The Nixon fans were screaming obscenities at the officials, and especially the
side official. The game clock was ticking and more players were being hacked by others players as emotions and
anger took effect. The game ended with South winning 1-0 over Nixon but the action did not end there.
As soon as the game ended, the majority of the Nixon players charged at the officials, and had to be
contained. There is a usual line up where both teams shake hands after the game, but even that ended in
players trash talking, and tempers flared even more.
There were Nixon parents that jumped the fence, and got in the officials face and cursed at them. Fans were
still screaming profanities as well as players towards the officials. Order had to be restored as security separated
the officials from the players and parents. After a few tense moments, emotions calmed down and people started
to leave the stadium.
The soccer guru spoke with South Head Coach Willie Santos about the game. He said "games like this always
have a lot emotion and passion. We both came out to get the victory, and we both played extremely hard to get
the win. We came out on top this game but the game did take a very physical tone".
The soccer guru asked Coach Santos about his team's performance, he said "we played a very good first
half, but got dominated by Nixon in the second half. We had good play from all the team but Nixon has a very
good and talented team". The soccer guru asked his thoughts about the importance of this game he said "we still
12 games more to go. There is still 36 points up there for us to grab and hopefully get into the playoffs. This
game is important but there are all important".
The soccer guru spoke to Nixon Head Coach Julian Rodriguez Jr about the game, he said " well I don't want to
say anything that will get me in any trouble later on so I will just say that we worked hard all week to get a victory,
but then stuff like this happens. I don't know what else to say. We had two goals taken away and that always
takes your team's heart and momentum away".
The soccer guru asked him about his team's performance, he said "we did not have a good first half, but we
outplayed them the entire second half. We showed that we were the better team but that doesn't always reflect
on the scoreboard".
The overview of the game is that this game was way too physical for anyone's liking. The speed of play was
wonderful for both teams as they both have very fast, and very talented mid fielders, but all that hacking showed
the ugly side of soccer. The officiating crew needed to do a better job of controlling the game, and especially all
the trash talking being spoken by the players. The true stars here were the world class saves that both
goalkeepers had to make a 1--0 game.
SOCCER GURU'S TIP OF THE DAY:
Fans do not belong in the field at any time during or after a game. Fans need to understand that
human error IS, and ALWAYS will be part of this beautiful game. When a fan enters the field he/she is
trespassing, and that is a criminal offense that can lead to jail time, but more importantly.....you being
banned from seeing your son/daughter from playing soccer. Hopefully those fans realize that it's still
just a game, and not life or death.
| The Sports Pulse of Laredo Sports Texas Lrd Sports Wire News Network Soccer's GURU Danny Perez Sports analyst view on the match that was played by United South Vs Nixon |
Fireworks came early to Laredo, and not in the form of the Washington's
Birthday Celebration Annual Fireworks Show, but in a very passionate,
and volatile game soccer game. The game between the United South
Panthers versus the Nixon Mustangs would give one of the teams the all
important 3 points to move up in the standings as both are currently in the
middle of the pack in the standings. Both teams were coming off "game
highs" as United South tied district leading Del Rio Rams 1-1, and the
Nixon Mustangs beat one of the top teams in United Longhorns 2-1. So
what do you get when you have two teams with momentum, and talented
mid fields? You get a game atmosphere full of emotions, full of energy,
and full of heart. With all those components anything can happen.
Birthday Celebration Annual Fireworks Show, but in a very passionate,
and volatile game soccer game. The game between the United South
Panthers versus the Nixon Mustangs would give one of the teams the all
important 3 points to move up in the standings as both are currently in the
middle of the pack in the standings. Both teams were coming off "game
highs" as United South tied district leading Del Rio Rams 1-1, and the
Nixon Mustangs beat one of the top teams in United Longhorns 2-1. So
what do you get when you have two teams with momentum, and talented
mid fields? You get a game atmosphere full of emotions, full of energy,
and full of heart. With all those components anything can happen.
