Fort Wayne, IN — Spokane Velocity FC suffered an 0-3 road loss against Fort Wayne FC this past Saturday, remaining winless on the road and dropping to seventh in USL League One standings. The loss was Velocity FC’s fifth in their last six regular-season matches.
Velocity FC head coach Leigh Veidman reflected on what went wrong against Fort Wayne.
Ultimately, the result tonight and our recent results fall on my shoulders,” said Veidman. “The players are working hard and doing everything they can for the city and badge. Sometimes in life and football things don’t go your way no matter how hard you work or
how good you think your plan is, so we have to do more and keep pushing.”
Spokane missed a golden opportunity in the 8th minute when forward Shavon John-Brown made a run into the box, placing a cross to an open Luis Gil who could not find his footing on a shot, missing on an attempt wide right in the center of the box.
Fort Wayne took control of the match in the 14th minute off a score by midfielder Taig Healy, who received a perfect cross into the box by Jack Thomas and knocked it into the bottom left of the net to give the home side a 1-0 lead. The goal was Healy’s eighth of the season, which is tied for the second-most in League One.
The Autumn Gold & Black nearly doubled its score minutes later, with defender Jayden Smith breaking through the backline and running into the box in the 18th minute, firing a shot that was blocked by Spokane’s goalkeeper Sean Lewis.
Thomas had another scoring chance for Fort Wayne in the 26th minute, finding himself open in the center of the box and taking a shot that was wide left of the net. The chance was created by Healy, who sent a cross to Thomas inside the box.
Velocity FC did not have another clear attempt until the 40th minute when defender Ibrahim Covi tried a distanced shot outside the box that sailed over the goalpost.
Covi, who made his first regular-season start on Saturday, reflected on Saturday’s match.
It was a tough match for us offensively, we had chances that we unfortunately missed,” said Covi. “Defensively, we need to show more character and dominate in the box, that’s where you win and lose a match. We know that, and we’ll sort it out in the next matches.
Fort Wayne doubled its lead minutes before halftime off a point blank goal by midfielder Jeremy Garay in the 44th minute. Lilian Ricol sent a dangerous cross into the center of the box, with Kabiru Gafar getting a touch on the pass before Garay finished the play to give the side a 2-0 lead into the break.
It was an unfortunate start to the second half for Spokane, who gave up a penalty kick to Fort Wayne in the 48th minute due to a hand ball by defender Derek Waldeck. Ricol scored the PK to give Fort Wayne a 3-0 lead.
Lewis’s name was called once more in the 52nd minute when Ricol made a free run towards goal off an interception, finding himself in a 1v1 opportunity against Lewis and firing a shot towards goal that was saved by the reigning Goalkeeper of the Year. Spokane defender Moses Mensah spoke on what can be improved upon following Saturday’s loss.
“Offensively, I think we can be more clinical in front of goal, and we just missed the final piece most of the time, and that’s putting the ball in the back of the net,” said Mensah.
“Defensively, we can be more aggressive in some areas to stop teams from getting into our box. Collectively as a team these are some of the details we are missing and our main focus is getting back on track with winning games.”
Gil found himself open in the center of the box again in the 56th minute, putting too much on his attempt that sailed high over the goalpost. Velocity FC defender Simon Fitch set Gil up well with a curving service well outside the box that found Spokane’s captain perfectly, who could not finish the chance.
Spokane was unable to find any goals in the second half and ended the match with no shots on target against Fort Wayne. Coach Veidman spoke on what the club’s mindset will be as they navigate through a tough part of the season.
“We are in a difficult moment and the answer in these times is to push through it together and continue to keep working hard, which is what the players are doing,” said Veidman.
Following Saturday’s loss, Spokane will head west for a Prinx Tires USL Cup match against Oakland Roots SC on July 11. The match is set to kickoff at 12:00 PM PT and can be streamed on ESPN+ and CBS Sports Golazo. For tickets to Spokane Velocity FC’s next home match on July 22 against Charlotte Independence, visit uslspokane.com.
