Howell-Manalapan Post-Game Thoughts
This game looked a lot like the CJ IV quarterfinal game between the two teams last year. Manlapan gets on the board first and packs it in, giving Howell almost zero chance to get a decent shot on Jake Grinkevich the rest of the game.
George Quintano was bound to play a better game against Howell after three virtual no-shows, but I was surprised with how many quality looks he was able to get. Even before the goal in the 34th, Quintano had two good chances to score, one that missed high, and another to the right. Both shots were as clean a looks as he's had against Howell this year, and then he managed an even better shot to score the goal about a minute after he missed wide right. Manalapan did play with three forwards instead of two, which gave Quintano some support by giving the Howell backs more guys to account for. So kudos to the Manalapan coaching staff for that adjustment.
The reason they can push an extra player up though, is because they have the best keeper in the Shore Conference. Grinkevich was excellent again, and once Quintano got his his goal, the Rebels had no chance. They could not get one past him when they were getting clean looks, so when Manalapan had five or six players in the protecting him, forget it. Unless Howell could boot one off a Manalapan leg and redirect it past Grinkevich, nothing was getting through. Grinkevich made three terrific saves with the score tied at 0, but once Manalapan scored, Howell didn't get any great shots. A couple crosses, passed in front of the net, but nothing anybody was able to get a foot on.
As good as Quintano's been this year, Grinkevich is what sets this team apart. The Braves struggled early in the year because he was moving around like a 40-year-old Patrick Ewing while recovering from an ankle injury. He's looked better with every game and he's playing better now than he has at any point in the last three years. It'll be interesting to see how he does next year, but the Braves don't have to start thinking that far ahead just yet, so I won't either, at least not in this space.
Another great year for Howell comes to a bitter end. Kyle Bethel, Eric O'Neill, and Joe Parella are the only senior starters, but it hurts every player, no matter the grade, to lose a game like this. In the end, they just didn't control the pace of the game long enough. Howell dominated the first quarter of the game, but Manalapan got its attack rolling, got a goal, and Howell couldn't recover. They managed to come back from a 2-0 deficit against Manalapan earlier in the year, but after watching the Braves lock them down Friday, I don't know how they did it. Kudos to Howell on a great year. I thought they might win Group IV, but a game like this just shows how hard it is to do when there are so many good teams.
I have a tough decision on my hands deciding who's number one. Since Saturday's paper only takes games up to Thursday into account, I have a week to think about it. For now I'll let everyone else decide.
George Quintano was bound to play a better game against Howell after three virtual no-shows, but I was surprised with how many quality looks he was able to get. Even before the goal in the 34th, Quintano had two good chances to score, one that missed high, and another to the right. Both shots were as clean a looks as he's had against Howell this year, and then he managed an even better shot to score the goal about a minute after he missed wide right. Manalapan did play with three forwards instead of two, which gave Quintano some support by giving the Howell backs more guys to account for. So kudos to the Manalapan coaching staff for that adjustment.
The reason they can push an extra player up though, is because they have the best keeper in the Shore Conference. Grinkevich was excellent again, and once Quintano got his his goal, the Rebels had no chance. They could not get one past him when they were getting clean looks, so when Manalapan had five or six players in the protecting him, forget it. Unless Howell could boot one off a Manalapan leg and redirect it past Grinkevich, nothing was getting through. Grinkevich made three terrific saves with the score tied at 0, but once Manalapan scored, Howell didn't get any great shots. A couple crosses, passed in front of the net, but nothing anybody was able to get a foot on.
As good as Quintano's been this year, Grinkevich is what sets this team apart. The Braves struggled early in the year because he was moving around like a 40-year-old Patrick Ewing while recovering from an ankle injury. He's looked better with every game and he's playing better now than he has at any point in the last three years. It'll be interesting to see how he does next year, but the Braves don't have to start thinking that far ahead just yet, so I won't either, at least not in this space.
Another great year for Howell comes to a bitter end. Kyle Bethel, Eric O'Neill, and Joe Parella are the only senior starters, but it hurts every player, no matter the grade, to lose a game like this. In the end, they just didn't control the pace of the game long enough. Howell dominated the first quarter of the game, but Manalapan got its attack rolling, got a goal, and Howell couldn't recover. They managed to come back from a 2-0 deficit against Manalapan earlier in the year, but after watching the Braves lock them down Friday, I don't know how they did it. Kudos to Howell on a great year. I thought they might win Group IV, but a game like this just shows how hard it is to do when there are so many good teams.
I have a tough decision on my hands deciding who's number one. Since Saturday's paper only takes games up to Thursday into account, I have a week to think about it. For now I'll let everyone else decide.
posted by Matt Manley at 4:13 PM
8 Comments:
matt,
Know that the season is almost over have you narrowed your selections for player, team, coach....etc of the year.
what do you think the allshore midfields gonna look like ?(name the players) do you think novoa deserves a spot in there
Goal scorers shouldnt be the first players to be named or thought of. Soccer is a team sport and alot of support players in the Shore Conference deserve credit for fighting in the trenches in order to set those goals up. First Team and Second TEam should be named
Top 10,
Looks pretty good this morning. I think CBA should be 3 though, based on their run in the states. Jackson got smoked by Manalapan and showed they couldn't have survived in A north
Kudos to Manalapan for the victory and nice job by the coaching staff to switch up the formation as you mentioned. Manalapan finally made the adjustments it needed against Howell, and their defense was really stellar. Also, I don't think you gave justice to the Manalapan goal. Perfect 40-50 yard ball from Rice and great touch and finish by Quintano. Lastly, Howell certainly had chances in the second half, but failed to finish under pressure. They weren't really outplayed, but they looked less comfortable than in the earlier games against Manalapan.
Matt,
Are you going to do a recap? Like the way you gave a summary on each team.
Go Middletown South!
jake aint the best in the shore you are in love with that kid. Why won't you give credit where credit is do and give morgans some credit. He carried jackson the whole year because they had no offense and yet he gets no credit. 14 shutouts is pretty impressive, you never give this kid credit. Won 2 pk shutouts for his team and did it all for them. you did the same thing last year not even giving him third team all shore that was an insult to this kid. He will show everyone when he is at Rutgers doing what he does best and that is winning games.
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