The Midway Raiders have played solid defense and struggled to score all year and Monday at Spivey’s Corner was no different. However, this time the other team scored more as the Eagles from East Bladen won the game 2-1.
For the second game in a row, Midway entered halftime with a 0-0 score. Both teams had some opportunities in the opening stanza, but the goalkeepers did their jobs. There were also shots that went wide of the goal.
Finally, 1:19 into the 2nd half, the Raiders took the lead. Juan Medellin, fed by Jonathan Espino, hit pay dirt and the home team led 1-0.
East Bladen got on the board the easy way. With 24:25 remaining, Brooks McGill scored on a penalty kick. The score would remain knotted at 1 for about 17 minutes.
The Eagles found the back of the goal one more time with 7:16 remaining. Once again McGill took the honors to make it 2-1.
Although the Raiders did not score again, they did come close several times. Even as time expired to end the game, the Raiders got the ball in the goal and thought perhaps they had tied the score. The officials went into conference mode and determined that the goal was after time had run out.
“It was a good game,” asserted Midway head coach Allen McLamb. “A few mental mistakes were made and we got out of shape a few times and it was costly. You can’t do that against this team. They’re very well coached. Overall, I think it bothered the kids, losing to them. Maybe that will put us where we need to be with some good focus.”
East Bladen improves to 4-3 overall and 1-0 in the Four County Conference. Midway drops to 3-2-2 and 0-1 in conference play. Following a Wednesday trip to Pender, the Raiders will host Clinton next Monday.