West Jordan, UT, Oct 22nd, 2011 - We Came, We Saw, We Conquered!
Olympique Montreux defeated a talented Mutiny FC 4-1 last Saturday to qualify for the final game of the Utah Open Cup after a 4-1 win last Saturday at OM Oquirrh Field.
Mutiny FC opened the score in the 12th minute on a defensive mistake that left keeper Jaddon Rogers at the mercy of a charging opponent.
The Pirates of Mutiny were relentless and kept attacking the Olympians whose midfield was showing signs of early fatigue with Josh Kimball, Marcos Tiva Olmedo and Owen Washington looking a bit out of sort in the early minutes.
Manager Bel-Ami changed tactics immediately after the Mutiny goal. Defender Parker Haycock and midfielder Colton Spencer were sent in to replace Igor Ivakovic and Pedro Torres.
Owen moved up to partner Esteban Lecuoma. Defender Yuhei Nagato moved to right back, Parker took left back while Colton was assigned to play holding midfielder. Winger Steve McMurdie replaced Phil Meneses at right wing.
The tactician’s moves paid off right away.
With Colton patrolling midfield like a destroyer supported by the omni present Wade Nielsen, Tiva had more room to operate and feed passes to Owen and Esteban.
Steve’s nonstop attacking on the right flank caused problems for the Pirates’ defense.
Forward Esteban tied the game in the 22nd minute. He recidivated three minutes later. That second goal completely took the air out of the Pirates’ sail.
Winger Tim Ballantyne’s hard work was certainly noticed once he was put into the game as a substitute. The star forward was instrumental in the first 2 goals that O.M. scored assisting in one of them. “Tim has been a rock for our team all year long and always works hard. It’s no wonder how he’s won the Golden Boot Race by a landslide this year,” said captain Colton Spencer.
After a bit of rest and a pep talk, Pedro reentered the game and scored within seconds on his first touch, placing a grounded shot into the far right corner of goal despite the keeper’s brave dive to try to divert the shot.
The score was 3-1 at half time.
In the second half, the Olympians monopolized the ball, stringing passes all over the big field.
In the 68th minute Esteban got too cute on a penalty kick that could have put the game out of reach.
The star striker tried to be cheeky and the spot shot ended up weakly into the arms of Mutiny’s keeper.
Owen took the second penalty the Olympians earned and converted it in the 78th minute to make the score 4-1.
But for a few selfish decisions by Esteban, the outcome could have been much worse for the visitors.
“It was only a fortnight that Mutiny FC narrowly defeated our first division team 1-0 to take the Challenge Cup from us,” said Bel-Ami.
“It was obvious they had confidence today and played very well in the first half. They have improved greatly since the start of the season. I welcome them in the Premiership and think they will be successful. They proved that today.”
In the other seminal game, Park City Newpark rolled over a short-ended Meatus FC 6-3.
The snowmen will try to dethrone Olympique Montreux, the winner of the Utah Open Cup the past two years this weekend. The game will kick off at Westminster College next Saturday (Oct. 29th) at 11:00 AM.
The Olympians already qualify to defend the Utah Super Cup trophy that they have also won the past two years by winning the Daynes Champions League Cup two weeks ago and finishing ahead of Park City in points. That game will take place on November 5 at Westminster College against Westminster College (Lazio).
Olympique Montreux’s first division team went undefeated to win its division again making it three years in a row.
“We stand to win 5 out of 6 trophies. Two are already on our shelves. While I rue the loss of the fifth one, I am somewhat satisfied,” said Bel-Ami. “We are always expected to win everything. It’s our pedigree.”
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