South Georgia Tormenta FC put forth another solid effort as it travelled to take on the Myrtle Beach Mutiny Thursday evening. But — in what has become a trend this season — a solid effort didn’t result in the optimal outcome.
In a mirror result of the season opener in Statesboro, Myrtle Beach opened the scoring before Tormenta equaled, and the game ended in a hard-fought fought 1-1 draw.
“This was a very close and very well-played game,” Tormenta coach John Miglarese said. “I think Myrtle Beach is the best team we’ve seen and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in the playoffs. Both teams played hard and earned a point in a game that could have gone either way.”
With two draws now on the record between the squads, it was no surprise that Thursday’s affair was evenly matched, but it was Tormenta (1-2-4) that will walk away wondering what could have been.
Less than 10 minutes into the action, a Tormenta free kick ended up in the back of the net, only to be called back for an offside violation. In the 14th minute, Charlie Dennis sailed a shot just over the bar in a great scoring opportunity. And with the score tied 1-1 in the waning minutes, Tormenta saw another pair of solid chances skirt by, leaving them with their fourth draw of the season.
Tied at 0-0 after the first half of action, it was Myrtle Beach that struck first as a streaking shot from outside the box by Ricardo Gomez got past Tormenta goalkeeper Keegan Meyer in the 51st minute.
Less than a minute before that strike, Tormenta forward Charlie Dennis sent a free kick just over the crossbar after beating the Myrtle Beach keeper.
In the 66th minute, Dennis got another free kick opportunity from nearly the same spot. He made good on his second chance, finding the net to draw the game level.
“I hit it well the first time going to the near post,” Dennis said. “The second time, I changed it up and went to the far post. It’s a unique feeling when you hit it just right. It was on target and got in.”
Tormenta seemed to get the better of the final half hour of play. A solid cross by Ayao Sossou in the 77th minute couldn’t find a finisher and Jordan Lue fired just over the crossbar on a shot from 25 yards out in the 84th minute.
A save by the Mutiny goalkeeper and some quick-thinking defense on a corner after the 90th minute kept the game even, leading to the whistle sounding on the second 1-1 draw between the two sides.
“We played hard,” Tormenta’s Josh Phelps said. “We’re playing well, but it gets to where you almost expect a bad bounce, or a bad call, or for a shot to hit the crossbar. It takes a lot to fight through that, but that’s what we’re doing. We’re fighting every game and confident that we’ll start to get wins.”
Tormenta will stay on the road — and in South Carolina — as they make a short trip into the heart of the Palmetto State to take on the SC United Bantams Saturday.
Tormenta stymied to another draw on the road
