View from the 18: Week 2

Our Wolves held a strong lead and Ottawa City battled back with 2 goals late in the 2nd half but in the end, we prevailed!

Editor’s note:

Led by the meticulous line-up management of Anand Balaram and team leader Jahleel Baay, our Wolves played with ‘united’ enthusiasm. I witnessed a squad that was truly connected and played a calm, fair, and clean game right down to the anxious moments before the final whistle.

Some sideline support!

Congratulations to Billy Ford. His steady contribution earned him our ‘Player of the Game‘ honours. Billy donned the WOLVES POG belt, and he also got #mugged!

Early in the second half, Wolves-Homa fell behind again after conceding a penalty. However, it didn’t take long for them to equalize once more. This time, it was Amirhossein Amanzadeh, the team’s long-range shooter, who found the net with a shot from outside the box. As the game progressed and Wolves-Homa continued to dominate possession, they were hit with a counterattack and conceded again, falling behind 3–2.

But our Wolves-Homa players stayed focused and determined, managing to score the equalizer through a play initiated by Mostafa Taherian on the right wing, whose pass was beautifully finished by Mohammad Dehghan. We were level once again.

But not for long. Our Wolves-Homa, determined to win, kept up the pressure. Late in the game, another brilliant run and cross from Mostafa set up Badro, who scored a spectacular header that gave us the lead.

In the final moments, Hellenic applied heavy pressure and created several dangerous chances, but thanks to the outstanding performance by Wolves-Homa’s goalkeeper, Kasra, they couldn’t find the equalizer.

With that, our Wolves-Homa MR2 secured their first home win in their first match of the season (Week 2) and now look ahead to the coming weeks with optimism.

We started this game with that rhythm and fluid movement we’ve been seeking, and it led to an early strike that surprised us only because it felt like we scored too easily. But that confidence didn’t wane.

We kept up the pace and I can safely say the difference in this game was their keeper, Francis B. (who also happens to also play with our Wolves OT6) and their back-line clearances. We had at least four, quality opportunities that looked like sure goals until they were not. Props to our opponents BUT we should hold our heads up for continuing to press even though they extended their lead by another goal. I appreciate that some of our players pushed through some injuries. We knew moving up a division wasn’t going to be easy. We deserve to be here. We will keep playing like we have been, and the results will come. Thanks to Stefano Giamberadino and Ian Alexander for the post-game beverages. 

Carlo Zito’s latest poem was inspirational and going forward, his prose has even more meaning after our last result…

‘We started strong, we made our mark last week, But the journey’s long, and the goal we seek. Will not come easy — it’s earned in the grind. So, bring that dawg, that savage mind.

Hard from the start, we set the tone. No early goals, we hold our own. Trust the team, believe, we stand tall. Together we rise, together we ball.

Another battle is on its way,
So make your choice, no time to sway. Show up ready to play, give it all you’ve got’.

Next week, we are on the road in Fitzroy Harbour.

Michael played winded, hunched over due to fatigue, but he persevered and put in a performance worthy of our ‘Player of the Game‘.

From the first whistle, we came out flying, creating immediate chances and hitting the post a couple of times. It felt like we just couldn’t buy a goal early on. We were up against a very physical team, and the calls weren’t always going our way, making it even tougher to break through. We finally managed to grab a goal, but they quickly answered back. Then, Alexi put us back in the lead with a fantastic effort, only for them to equalize once more. Our goalkeeper, Matthew Hajjar, was immense in the first half, making a couple of massive saves that kept us firmly in the game.

The second half brought more drama. Eyouma Ewelle scored an absolute cracker of a free kick to regain the lead for us, sending a shot screaming into the net! But once again, they found an answer, and their equalizer came on a play that unfortunately saw our center-back pick up an injury. This left us with only two subs, forcing us to rotate players into unfamiliar positions and dig deep into our versatility. As we pushed hard for the winning goal in the dying minutes, they capitalized on a last-minute counter-attack, delivering a truly heartbreaking loss right at the end.

It was a tough pill to swallow, but the team showed incredible fight and resilience throughout the match. We’ll learn from this one and come back stronger next week!

Our ‘Player of the Game‘ was Eyouma Ewelle. A photo will follow in next week’s blog.

Our next game will be at home, against the Gloucester Eagles OT5.