Wilmington Hammerheads - Charlotte Independence (10-05-2016)

Ticket

I left my meeting in DC early so I would be able to make this rare event, a Tuesday evening game, on the coast of North Carolina. Battling traffic in DC and Virginia, I arrived in Wilmington, NC, just 15 minutes before kick-off. Starving, I hoped for decent food in the stadium. I was wrong!

 

Legion Stadium is a regularly renovated small stadium from 1938, which has two stands on the long sides, but they are not very deep. It is home to the Wilmington Hammerheads, which was founded in 1996, and plays in the United Soccer League (USL), the Third Division in the US. I pay $13 for a General Admission ticker and enter the stadium.

 

The stadium holds 6,000 people and, in this light, I guesstimate that some 500-750 people are here this night. The official attendance number is 2,776, which is very certainly a huge exaggeration. They are a broad mix of the usual middle class families (moms with little kids) but also some 100 “ultras,” mostly college bros and hipsters, trying to be like the Timbers Army.

The game starts relatively slow. I start to get a bit distracted, which leads me to miss a foul, in the 14^th minutes, which gives the Hammerheads a penalty kick.

The player takes the penalty very cool. The goalkeeper goes into the wrong corner: 1-0. Time to celebrate for the “ultras.”

In the 23^rd minute the hosts have a good attack, which leads to an odd pass in, which is tipped in from 5 meter, but saved by a defender, and then the rebound is beautifully saved by the goalkeeper. Only in the 30^th minute the visitors have their first real chance: after a corner, a soft header bounces and the goalie tips the ball over.

The quality of the game is a bit deceptive. It looks ok, but tactically it’s a mess and there are very few good passes. The players are mostly running and hitting long balls. Halfway the first half the passing and control become terrible. In the 38^th minute a good individual effort of the Charlotte striker might have ended with a goal if he would have passed. Three minutes later a corner leads to terrible defense, which is punished: 1-1.

It turns out that there are some ten away supporters, who made the relatively short (roughly 200 miles or 320 km) trip. They celebrate pretty much inside the Hammerheads “ultras’ section. 1-1 is also the half time score.

 

 

The second half starts with the same type of play. In the 51th minute a good shot of the hosts from about 20 meters goes just over. In the 76^th minute the visitors get an enormous chance, because the goalie hesitates and come out too late, but the striker hesitates too, and gives a difficult pass that is shot soft at the defenders.

The last 15 minutes sees various attacks on both ends, with Charlotte mostly countering, but the final passes are bad. In the 87th minutes two good tackles by a Wilmington defender deep in the Charlotte half lead to a chance for the Hammerheads. A direct counter of Charlotte leads to a shot at goal from about 12 meters, but it is soft and at the goalkeeper.

Despite this soft chances, the pace and quality of the game remain low. In the 90th minute a Hammerheads header goes just wide. That is the last more or less noteworthy thing to happen. Final score: 1-1.

Most USL teams are closer to the Premier Development League (PDL) than to the Major League Soccer (MLS) and the Wilmington Hammerheads are no exception. They have a modest support, but mostly transient fans (i.e. families and college kids). Still, because of the nice setting of Wilmington, and the pleasant surroundings of Legion Stadium, the Hammerheads are worth a visit. Just come well-fed, as the offerings in the stadium are dismal.

Harrisburg City Islanders – FC Cincinnati (07-05-2016)

Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania but only the tenth largest city of the state. As a consequence, it doesn’t have the big sports teams – Pittsburgh and Philadelphia do – and even its soccer team is a farm team, of the newest MLS franchise, New York City Football Club (NYCFC), itself a mere side project of Manchester City and the New York Yankees.

The Harrisburg City Islanders play in a stadium that is on an island in the Susquehanna river, which divides the city in two. Founded in 2003, the team plays in the United Soccer League (USL, Third Division). Its home ground is FNB Field, also known after its sponsor Metro Bank Park, a small, new baseball ground that hold just over 6,000 people, which is owned by the city and operated by the local Harrisburg Senators, farm team of the Washington Capitals.

I park in one of the huge parking lots close to the stadium ($5) and then walk over to the stadium, where I get a General Admission ticket for $15. There is a quiet and friendly atmosphere. I find it difficult to estimate the attendance, but knowing capacity is 6,000, I am absolutely certain that the official attendance of 2,204 is WAY OFF! I think it was closer to 500-600, almost all white, middle class, and many families with young children – the usual crowd at clubs with no real support base.

The first ball of the game is a wild kick that goes out of the pitch. The tone is set! A few minutes later a surprise shot by the hosts is saved by the goalkeeper. In the 7^th minute a good, long attack by the visitors ends with no finish. Then it slows down even more…

The pitch doesn’t help, as it has various bad spots, largely because it is primarily used as a baseball field. The passing and “control” are exceptionally poor, particularly given the slow pace. It’s mostly low-risk passing and a high ball under pressure.

In the 17^th minute a surprise through-ball reaches the Harrisburg striker, who, despite pressure from a defender, puts the ball cool past the goalie: 1-0. A few minutes later Cincinnati has a good attack, but it’s offside.

Now it’s getting quite dismal. The pace is incredibly slow and still the passes are bad, the control is bad, and people are offside. Harrisburg striker is defending deep in his own half and is then too tired to (counter) attack. In the 42^nd minute Cincinnati has a good attack over the right, but then volley is just over. Half time score: 1-0 for the home team.

 
The first ten minutes of the second half is all FC Cincinnati. In the 56^th minute City Islanders get their first decent chance, but it is offside.  At that point in time a steward comes to me to ask whether I am a journalist – as I am sitting in the “media section” (really just a long bench with some seats). I say “no, but I have a blog” and that seems to satisfy him.

The visitors remain dominant but don’t create too many real chances. In the 70^th minute they produce a weak header at the goalie and in the 76^th minute a weird attack with several half-chances leads to a shot at goal from 3 meters, which still doesn’t find the goal.

In the 80^th minute a corner from FC Cincinnati is headed from close-up at the goalie and the rebound is a hard, low shot that goes through everyone: 1-1. Out of nowhere some 50 away fans stand up and cheer. Respect, as they made a 500 miles (800 km) trip from Cincinnati!

Both teams seem pretty happy with a draw and little happens in the last ten minutes. Only in extra time is there a deep cross from the right, which is volleyed by a Harrisburg player against the hand of a Cincinnati defender. No penalty is given. Final Score: 1-1.

This was a typical lower league game in the US: nice but soulless facilities, few real fans, and slow and uninspiring football. It is as if it also could have been a baseball game.

Groundhopweekend in the Northwest (May 2009)

In most parts of the USA it takes a lot of driving to see one “soccer” game, let alone two in one weekend. This notwithstanding, I set out for a classic football weekend in the Northwest, which took me from the southwest of Oregon to the northeast of Washington (state), and back, through the northwest of Oregon. So, on Friday morning, just before 10.00, I jumped into my car, got a bagel and coffee at my favorite locals, and started my 781 km drive to Post Falls, Idaho, for my 19.00 game.

Spokane Spiders – Victoria Highlanders (01-05-2009)

Don’t ask me why, but the Spokane Spiders, from Spokane, Washington, play their games in Post Falls, ‘just’ across the border in Idaho (37 km). This despite the fact that: (1) Spokane is roughly ten times bigger than Post Falls (the metro area even 20 times); (2) Spokane is in a different state than Post Falls; (3) the Greyhound Park and Event Center, where they play in Post Falls, isn’t very special.

I parked on the huge and virtually empty parking lot in front of the ‘stadium’ and proceeded inside, where I bought a ticket for USD 8.00 (ca. EUR 6), which gave access to the whole ground, though it includes only one stand. After eating a hot dog that looked a bit like a meat stick (gehaktstaaf), at $2 a good deal, I left the canteen/covered stand to go outside and join the other ca. 250 fans to see the two teams and listen to two national anthems (the Highlanders are from Canada).

Spokane Spiders was founded in 2006 and plays in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), a kind of amateur-plus ‘league’ where teams can try to develop a (semi-)professional team. The owner of the team turned out to be the biggest cheerleader, roaming in front of the stand and firing on the ‘crowd’. As so often at (lower level) football games in the US, the fans were mostly families with a lot of young girls, few of them experts of the game. There was almost a gender balance in the stadium; in fact, the referee was female, while the linesmen were male. Unfortunately, there was also an announcer who commented throughout the game, mixing advertisements for sponsors with basic yet cheerful information: another corner/free/goal kick for your Spokane Spiders!

The level of play was very similar to that of the Seattle Wolves, another PDL team I saw a couple of weeks before. Most players were reasonably fit and fairly decently skilled… for lower level amateurs. None would have a short at the higher division amateur teams in the Netherlands, and some might have even struggled at my level. At the Spiders, the player-coach was clearly above the rest, but he was fairly slow and isolated. The Highlanders were better organized and had more of the game.

The visitors had a couple of half chances, including a shot in the 22^nd minute that was saved by the goalie, followed by a corner kick that was badly missed by that same goalie, but not finished by the strikers. In the 35^th minute the Highlanders got a soft penalty for pushing; a harsh penalty for a minor foul.

The visitors gladly accepted the gift and converted the penalty: 0-1. Shortly afterward they had another big chance, going alone at the goalie, but they failed. Hence, 0-1 was the half time score and no one seemed particularly upset (except for the owner, who nevertheless kept cheering on the fans). At half time the clearly enthusiastic announcer was allowed to introduce a new sponsor: Hooters, a restaurant chain famed for its legs rather than its wings. ;-)

As the sun had gone under and the evening was getting cold, more and more fans moved to the inside stand, where you could watch outdoor football in an indoor football setting. Moreover, you could escape the noise generated by one of the rental floodlights, which were running on their own (noisy) generators.

The second half brought a couple of half chances for the hosts, as the visitors were falling back deeper and deeper, hoping for a lucky counter. After an unsuccessful scrimmage in the 52^nd minute the Highlanders goalie was forced to make a great safe at a close header in the 59^th minute. This woke up the visitors, who created several good chances in the following fifteen minutes, before the Spiders could create some pressure again. While this all sounds stirring, the quality of play and the low pace made everything fairly unexciting. Eventually, even the owner wouldn’t find the spirit to cheer anymore. So, the Spokane Spiders started their 2009 season with a 0-1 defeat, which was deserved, given the slightly better play of the Highlanders.

Not hindered by much traffic I left the huge parking space to drive to Spokane, where I stayed the night. The next day I was up and about early again, as I had to drive most of the route back to see my Saturday game in Portland, Oregon, 566 km to the southwest of Spokane. The game started at 19.00, but I was to meet a fellow Dutchman a couple of hours earlier.

Portland Timbers – Carolina RailHawks (02-05-2009)

I parked just outside of the stadium around 17.00, and joined a tailgating party on a parking lot nearby. Tailgating parties are typically American phenomena, where people meet up in the huge parking lots before the stadiums, hours before the game, to have drinks and food (including your own barbecue). This particular party was organized by the Timbers Army, the loyal supporters of section 107 in the PGE Park, and was attended by some 50 people.

After spending over an hour at the party, where I had a great chat with an American of Dutch descent (such a shame he is an ajax supporter), I.M. and his girlfriend had arrived and I met them in front of the main entrance of PGE Park, the multipurpose stadium that seat 19,566 (mostly covered).

The PGE Park is first and foremost a baseball stadium, home of minor league Portland Beavers; hence the rectangular shape and synthetic turf. However, with the Portland Timbers joining the Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2011, it will become its home; if the city can find a place to build a new stadium for the Beavers. I.M. had bought a ticket for the behind-the-goal area, at USD 11 (ca. EUR 8), and so we joined the famous Timbers Army to get an unexpectedly pleasant and ‘real’ football atmosphere.

The game tonight was between two established teams of the USL First Division, which oddly enough had already played each other that Thursday, also in the PGE Park, with a 0-0 result. We started with the obligatory national anthem, only one this time as both teams were American, which the supporters ended with shouting “Timbers Army” (instead of “brave”). It was the start of 90 minutes of song and chants, many of them original and topical – one of my favorites: “We have swine flu, oink, oink, oink”. Still, it remains an odd thing to hear supporters shout against the opponents, while no away fans are present (it is 4.600 km from Cary, North Carolina, to Portland, Oregon).

The Timbers fans reminded me of the German St. Pauli fans, an odd blend of alternatives with a big passion for football. Although there were still quite a lot of girls and women around, the vast majority of members of the Timbers Army are guys between 15 and 35, the usual suspects in European football stadiums.

To be honest, I devoted most of my time in the stadium enjoying the atmosphere, talking to I.M., plundering the Timbers fan shop, and appreciating a very decent game of football. I didn’t make many notes, so I refer to the official report online for details.

The first half was dominated by the Timbers, who created various chances while suffering only a few real counter attacks. The level of play was very acceptable, not much different from the Dutch equivalent (i.e. eerste divisie). Moreover, the stadium and crowd, officially 6,752, let alone the atmosphere, was better than I have seen at some Dutch eredivisie (First Division) games. The pressure of the Timbers paid off, as the hosts went into half time with a well-deserved 1-0 lead. As always, the home goal was followed by Timber Joey, the life mascot of the Timbers, cutting off a piece of wood with his chainsaw.

In the second half the RailHawks had the better of the game. Increasingly the Timbers started to make small mistakes and they looked increasingly tired. The pace of the game went down, but it was still very decent. Moreover, both sides created clear chances, but were unable to convert them to goals. In the 83^rd minute, however, it was the Timbers who clinched the deal with a second goal of the evening: 2-0. This was also the final score.

After the game the players of Portland Timbers came to the side of the Timbers Army to thank them for their support. This was much deserved as they had truly been singing and chanting for the whole duration of the game. Timber Joey game the players the two pieces of wood he had cut off, which were then celebrated as if they were the FA Cup.

I guess it is clear to the reader by now, I am totally won over by the Portland Timbers and the Timbers Army. This was the 12^th team I have seen in the US, including several in the MLS, but so far there has been no comparison in atmosphere and dedication of the fans. This might change, however, when I will visit the Seattle Sounders, the arch rivals of the Timbers, at the end of the month at Qwest Field.