Charleston, WV, 6/1, 2018 - Dayton Dutch Lions FC (3-0-1) pushed their win streak to three with a hard fought 2-0 victory over the West Virginia Chaos (1-1-3). The Lions got goals in the second half from from Tate Robertson (Springfield, OH/Bowling Green) and Emiel Wendt (Netherlands/v.v. Noordwijk) to secure sole possession of 2nd place in the Great Lakes division.
"This was easily our best performance of the year. We dominated the opening 20 minutes and then we get an ejection. I still am not 100% sure why our player was red carded, but the boys really came together and pushed their play through to the half. Our defense only allowed them one half chance in the first half," said Head Coach Dan Griest. "We started the second half well and they get a player tossed to make it 10 vs 10. The rest of the match belonged to us. We were creating chances and should be a bit disappointed that it was only 2-0 as we were very effective tonight in controlling this match."
It was a wet, rainy overcast night at Schoenbaum stadium for match day 4 as Coach Griest had 3 players making their 2018 debuts. National PDL Team of the Week member, Jackson Dietrich (Las Vegas, NV/Wright State) made his first start of the year as Federico Barrios (Columbia/Dayton) was back in goal. The other nine starters were the same from last week's two win campaign.
The Lions were aggressive from the opening whistle and looked very comfortable in possession. They earned a corner in the 1oth minute, but it was cleared and led to a Chaos counter-attack. A long through ball was initially handled by Jake Stovall (Centerville, OH/Puerto Rico FC), but he was challenged by a WV attacker. The ball popped loose and WV was first to the loose ball in the box. Barrios quickly came off his line and smothered the shot. This was the only scoring chance the home team had the entire match.
In the 19th minute, the game was dramatically changed. The Lions were on the attack, but a foul from behind brought Robertson down. Chaos player was issued a yellow card for the foul. Several players from each team were jawing with each other as they prepared for the free kick and the AR raised his flag. After discussion with the referee, a red card was issued to JJ Williams (Montgomery, AL/Kentucky) for pushing an opponent in the face. The Lions, though impacted, did not allow this to alter the course of the match. Coach Griest made a small adjustment to the attack and Dayton continued to have the better of the play. Halftime whistle came with the game scoreless.
Justin Barkow (Longmont, CO/South Dakota School) came on at half and Dayton started the 2nd half the way they played the first 45 minutes. Simple passing, moving for each other and minimizing any space for the Chaos. The home team struggled to make any impact on the match and seemed to become a bit frustrated that they could not take advantage of the extra player. All of that changed in the 55th minute, when the Chaos defender got a second yellow for a late tackle and was sent to the locker room.
With both teams at 10 players, the Lions took over the match. Coach Griest inserted Wendt into the match up top and had Robertson sit right off of him. This led to an improved attack with the Lions keeping the ball in the offensive third for most of the final 30 minutes. The first good chance was the Robertson/Dietrich combo as Tate was able to get to the endline and swing the ball back to the penalty area. Dietrich hit a one-time shot that was in the back of the net, but was whistled dead before the shot for an off the ball foul behind the play. The Dayton squad did not get frustrated and kept on pushing. The game winning goal came just two minutes later as Dietrich found Robertson on the left flank and Tate hammered his shot below the oncoming keeper. In the 65th minute, the Lions led 1-0.
The visitors continued to push the pace and the attack. They created five good chances over the next 15 minutes with the Chaos keeper making 3 saves and several shot going just over the bar. In the 84th minute, the Lions had a throw-in and Bradley Schluter (Centerville, OH/Dynamo) had a good throw into the box. Wendt was able to trap and turn with his first touch, he then cut the second defender and slotted the ball far post to put the game away. A 2-0 lead with just under 5 to play guaranteed the Lions their second away win and a three game win streak.
The Lions were able to get all the substitutes onto the pitch with James Williamson (Costa Rica/Rio Grande) and Antoine Ravera (Spain/Urbana) making their first appearances for Dayton.
Man of the Match was Peyton Mowery. Coach Griest shared, "Peyton was all over the pitch tonight. When we went a man down, he stepped up and really became a ball winner for us. He helped both lines so effectively - stepped in on defense and really pushed on the counter attack. A very strong 90 minutes for us!"
The Dayton Dutch Lions continue with their best start in club history at the USL PDL level. The are just one point off behind the division leading Lansing United, but do have a game in hand.
The Lions next match is Sunday, June 3 at home versus the Derby City Rovers. Kickoff it at 4:00pm. Tickets are $10 adults and $6 youth, military and veterans at the gate (5 and under free). Specially priced discounted tickets are available for groups of 12 or more by calling the ticket office at 937 530 2123.
To keep up with all the latest news on the Lions, follow us on Facebook @DaytonDutchLionsFC and on Twitter @DaytonDutchLion.
FULL MATCH STATS 6/1 Lions @ WV Chaos full game stats
MATCH SUMMARY
Venue: Schoenbaum Stadium, Charleston, WV
Referee: Heath Hixson
Attendance: Unavailable
LINEUPS:
Dayton Dutch Lions FC: Barrios, Schluter (Williamson 89'), Stovall, Slade, Lianes (Hughes 71'), Dietrich (Ravera 89'), Mowery, Moore (Lenius 45'), Bayo (Wendt 57'), Williams (Red Card 18'), Robertson (Barkow84'). Unused substitutes: Steele
West Virginia: Ashton, Dechere, Taiwo (Kounna 70'), Mianne, Versano, Gluscevic (Capote 45'), Dozzell, Burgoa, Kibler (Salma 64'), Ashton (Red Card 55'), Harris
SCORING SUMMARY
DDL - Robertson, 65' (Dietrich)
DDL - Wendt, 84' (Schluter)
DISCIPLINE
WV - Ashton (Dangerous Play), 18'
DDL – Williams (Striking), 18′ RED CARD
WV – Kibler (Unsportsman), 41′
DDL - Lianes (Unsportsman), 44'
DDL - Robertson (reckless tackle), 45'
WV - Asthon (Reckless tackle), 83' Second Yellow RED CARD
WV - Salma (Unsportsman), 79'