Tale of two halves mark Huntsville City FC loss

HUNTSVILLE — It was the best of games; it was the worst of games. (Apologies to Charles Dickens).

What it was Sunday night was a heart-breaking 4-3 loss for Huntsville City FC to New York City FC 2.

The game saw Huntsville City FC jump out to a 3-0 lead in the first half and hold a 3-1 lead at halftime.

“It was a wonderful start, got a couple quick goals and feeling really good,” Head Coach Jack Collison said.

Less than 15 minutes into the match, Azaad Liadi took a pass from Isaiah Johnston and scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season. Just two minutes later, an Ollie Wright ball bounced off an NYCFC 2 player to the feet of Nebiyou Perry, who finished off the chance with his first goal of the season.

Then, after the 35-minute mark, Huntsville City’s Shaun Joash, who came in for the injured Liadi, was taken down in the box to give HCFC a penalty. Joash converted the kick for a 3-0 lead – the most goals HCFC has scored in a half this season.

However, NYCFC 2 got on the board three minutes later to cut the HCFC advantage to 3-1.

NYCFC carried that momentum through intermission, striking twice within a minute to tied the match in the opening six minutes. Then, the game-winner came for the visitors at 71 minutes.

“We couldn’t maintain it,” Collison said. “We didn’t do the things that got us success and we get punished. We lost a little bit of energy, a little spark.

“We came away with a bit of a sour taste in our mouth.”

The match was also marked by a whistle-fest with 29 fouls called. There were also seven yellow cards issued – including one to Collison – and a red card to Wright, forcing HCFC to play shorthanded for the final 18 minutes of the match. HCFC had 18 of the fouls called and received five of the yellow cards.

But Collison did not blame the officiating for the loss.

“We’re not putting the blame anywhere else other than with ourselves right here,” he said.

However, noting that MLS NEXT Pro is a development league for players, coaches and officials, Collison just asked for consistency in the calls.

“This is a development league and these guys are developing,” he said. “The big thing we ask for is consistency.

“We like to think they go back and watch these things and, hopefully, when the time comes again, they’re in a better position to make better decisions.”

Meanwhile, Huntsville City opens a grueling part of their schedule with three matches in a 14-day span starting Sunday when St. Louis FC 2 visits Wicks Family Field at Joe Davis Stadium.

And there’s little time to dwell on the tough loss.

“Thankfully, for us, we got an opportunity to put it right next Sunday,” Collison said. “Next week’s going to be such a pivotal week … We play Sunday, Thursday (June 15) go to Toronto and Miami back here (June 18). If we want to achieve our goals this year, at some point we need to find a way to start putting these games to bed and start getting over the line and winning these games we’re doing so well in.

“With that three-game week … we’ll see where we’re at.”