Homewood Patriots Varsity Boys Soccer took care of business at home on Tuesday, Apr. 30 with a 3-1 victory over the Mountain Brook Spartans. The Patriots will now advance to the third round of the state tournament.
The game got off to a slow start, but the Patriots grew into the game and put the nerves aside. After 10 minutes of play it was clear that the home team was ready. It was also clear that this rivalry was going to give way to a very physical matchup.
The Patriots found themselves with a few good opportunities throughout the first half, including a great shot from Homewood Freshman Andy Platt that was saved. For the most part, they maintained dominance in the half, holding their own against the Spartans.
Just when it seemed like the Spartans had successfully fended off the Homewood attack, scoring opened up as Gid Malone slotted one home one minute before the half-time break. The student section erupted. It was chaos inside of Waldrop Stadium, and it seemed as if a weight was lifted off the Pats’ shoulders.
The home team carried this momentum into the second half, and continued to dictate much of the game. Continuing his great first half play, Gid Malone scored another to put the Patriots up 2-0.
Once again, the reaction was sensational in the stadium. The joy from both the fans and players was evident as the celebrations were awesome.
However, the squad knew that the game was far from over. They needed to continue fighting, because the Spartans were doing just that.
The Spartans started to pursue the attack more and found themselves in more forward positions. When it appeared that the momentum was shifting in the way of the Spartans, team captain Will Jackson skillfully dribbled through the Spartan defense and scored the third Homewood goal.
Victory was in sight for the Patriots, but Mountain Brook was not going down without a fight.
Mountain Brook began to aggressively fight back and found themselves open, scoring a goal as the end of the game neared. The team then hastily got back to the attack. However, this last push was to no avail as the Patriots prevailed 3-1.
Coach Julian Kersh was thrilled with the win, but not surprised.
“We knew that if we executed, we would win this game,” Kersh said. The team played well on Tuesday night, and that’s what led them to victory.
Alongside this, Kersh also noted Gid Malone’s outstanding performance.
“He’s popped up for us at crucial moments to score big goals,” Kersh said.
Despite playing in the defensive midfield, Malone found opportunities to score, a rare quality for this position.
Malone gave credit to the hard work of the overall team regarding Tuesday night’s success.
The one thing, however, that stuck out the most to the players regarding the game was the fan presence. Hundreds of fans turned out for the game, and this gave way to the electric environment. From celebrating goals, to hyping up the team during lulls in the action, the crowd was buzzing.
“Every time we’d make a play [the crowd] hyped us up,” Malone said, “It was just a game changer”
The Patriots will take on the Gardendale Rockets on Friday, May 3 in the state quarterfinal. Despite beating the Rockets in this same stage last year, the Patriots know that the match will not be easy.
“We take it one game at a time,” Kersh said. The squad isn’t focused on any later rounds. They’re focused on the task at hand, which in this case is getting past Gardendale.
