Yes, some of the lustre of an opening game 4-0 win over Alliance FC has faded given a follow-up 1-1 draw with Masters Football Academy and a 3-1 loss to Alliance Saturday afternoon on the road.
But Sudbury Cyclones’ head coach Giuseppe Politi is also not about to press the panic button in any way, shape or form. Certainly not yet, anyways.
“We’re only three games into a 14 game season,” said Politi on the return trip home from London. “This is more of a wake-up call.”
The simple truth is that there are 3-1 defeats that are literally no contest and others where the game is far more up for grabs. From the sounds of things, this initial Cyclones loss – their record now sits at 1-1-1 – was far more of the latter than the former.
“I don’t think we were good enough to win today, based on some errors, not being sharp, missing some chances – but a draw was certainly in the cards,” said Politi.
“We had a good start to the game but we got caught on a counter and went down 1-0.”
Lorenzo Abbaglivo would open the scoring for Alliance as the contest neared the 40th minute but in and of itself, the tally was hardly a death-knell for the visitors. Within minutes, however, the homeside doubled their advantage.
“We didn’t exhibit the composure and patience to see out the half and then let in a goal on a mistake in the 44th minute,” said Politi.
Adrian Panaite (Team Ontario – Canada Summer Games – 2022) capitalized on the error and the second half challenge was suddenly far more daunting. “We dug the hole a little too deep,” said Politi. “If we were only down one (at half), I felt confident that we could have earned a tie.”
The 2-0 deficit would bring about both tactical changes – “we had to take some risks and try and get one back” – as well as some movement in personnel as Douvoy Bromfield, Chanley Francois and Cedric Devos all entered the contest for the Cyclones to begin the second half.
It would be Devos, the native of Ottawa who just finished his junior year with the Nipissing Lakers that would finally get Sudbury on the board, converting on a penalty kick in the 84th minute and narrowing the gap to 2-1.
“He came on as a substitute and created chances, created his own penalty and scored on his own penalty,” said Politi. “He (Devos) was probably the number one highlight today.”
For as much as the scoreboard was now looking a little more favourable for the Cyclones, the clock time was not. “We pushed everybody forward in the dying minutes and they basically scored on the last play of the game,” said Politi, referencing a 94th minute strike from Matthew Glavanov.
While the final score may stand in stark contrast to the 4-0 home triumph, Politi suggested that if overconfidence was a factor, it was certainly not an integral one. “I think there may have been a little bit of that element,” he said. “We certainly talked before the game of remaining humble despite the (previous) win.”
“But we missed some clear chances early; we made some mistakes at the wrong time,” he added. “If we score first in that first 15 minutes, when chances were missed, how much does that change the game?”
If quality practice time together might have been at fault a month ago, Politi is no longer willing to use that as an excuse either. “This wasn’t about a lack of chemistry,” he said. “There was a little bit of a lack of quality, some errors, and some unlucky bounces. It’s a test of character and resilience to lick our wounds and get back to the training ground.”
“We don’t have time to dwell on this.”
First on his list is to now see just how much his own eye-test of the match will hold true to form once technical assistance is added to the mix. “The first thing is to get back and watch the video,” said Politi. “That way, we have tangible evidence of where the breakdowns happened, where the chances were missed.”
From a defensive standpoint, Politi did make note of the play of Jaden Timmis, the Manchester native who provided a solid and steady performance, leading by example and displaying a great attitude.
The Cyclones are back at home next Sunday, welcoming a Simcoe County Rovers team to Sudbury that is sitting with a win and two losses in the early going as the teams kick things off at 3:00 p.m. at the James Jerome Sports Complex.