SPOKANE, WA — Spokane Velocity FC conceded three goals to the Sharks in the second half, ultimately losing 2-3 on Saturday.
Velocity FC Head Coach Leigh Veidman reflected on his side’s performance:
“We played into their game, and we gave them the set pieces they wanted to get on the road. We have got to be more mature, and we weren’t,” said Veidman.
Spokane had a dazzling start to the match, with Neco Brett scoring in the 10th minute to give the Lads an early advantage. The play started with a cross from Collin Fernandez into the box, which Joe Gallardo found and tapped towards Brett, who finished with a left-footed strike into the net that broke the Sharks streak of four straight clean sheets entering Saturday’s match.
Defender Ibrahim Covi nearly cashed in Velocity FC’s second goal of the half in the 24th minute when he took a long distanced strike yards outside the box that forced a save from Corpus Christi goalkeeper James Talbot.
The Sharks strung together a promising chance in the 32nd minute when Jake Keegan sent a cross into the box, which Kaihim Thomas made header contact on but sent over the goalpost.
Spokane midfielder Joe Gallardo was aggressive in finding a goal in the first half, taking three shots and getting one on target. One of his best attempts came in the 45th minute when he fired a shot outside the box that was on goal, however, got saved by a diving Talbot.
Gallardo spoke on what changed from the first to second half against the Sharks.
“We had a lot of chances, and maybe if we would have put away a couple more in the first half, it would have been easier in the second,” said Gallardo. “It came down to little moments like set pieces and when you give teams like that chances to get back into the game, anything can happen.”
Corpus Christi found an equalizer in the 54th minute thanks to a header by defender Jack Keaney. Blake Bowen sent in a set piece yards outside the box that found Keaney, who ran past Spokane’s backline and headed in a goal to tie the match at 1-1.
It did not take long for Spokane to retake the lead, with Nil Vinyals tapping in a point blank goal in the 70th minute to give his side a 2-1 lead. Shavon John-Brown set up Vinyals nicely with a perfect touch pass into the six yard box, and with Talbot off his line, Nil was wide open for his score.
Vinyals spoke on what worked well offensively against a Corpus Christi side that had not conceded a goal in over three weeks.
“In the first half, we were able to do double movements when the wingers were coming, and those were causing a lot of difficulties,” said Vinyals. “We had some chances and scored some goals, but it wasn’t enough.”
The Sharks punched back, with Bubu Medina knocking in a header in the 81st minute to equalize the match yet again. Enock Kwakwa sent in a long cross that found Medina in the centre of the box, who perfectly headed in a score into the top left of goal and past goalkeeper Sean Lewis to tie the match at 2-2. Spokane’s Anuar Peláez nearly headed in a game winner moments later, connecting on a cross from John-Brown into the six yard box, however, his header was bobbled and saved by Talbot.
Instead, it was Corpus Christi who had a last-second goal from Jake Keegan in the 90th minute to take all three points on Saturday. The game winner started off a set piece from Jack Keaney, which was taken by Keegan and knocked into the back of the net to give the Sharks a 3-2 lead.
Coach Veidman spoke on the difficulties Spokane had defending set pieces against Corpus Christi.
“We were too weak in the one v. one duel and we lost our ballmark on two easy headers from a guy that makes a living off doing that,” said Veidman.
Velocity FC will look to rebound with a win next Saturday when they host Greenville Triumph SC on August 22 in a League One match. Kickoff is slated for 6:30 PM PT with streaming available on ESPN+.
$5 from every ticket sold to this match will be donated to Innovia Foundation’s Wildfire Response Fund. Purchase your tickets now to cheer on the Lads and support Spokane!
