Hops put on show again at home with dominant 3-0 win vs Bristol Rhythm
Written by Robert Morrison, Photos by Jamaal Hailey
Charlottetowne Hops FC hosted Bristol Rhythm on Saturday night at the CSA OrthoCarolina Sportsplex in Pineville, NC, and treated their home fans to a dominant 3-0 victory over the league debutants.
The Hops got on the score sheet early, as veteran midfielder Jamie DiLuzio slotted a perfect through-ball to his left and found a streaking Drew Hansen who slammed hit home with his left foot past Bristol goalkeeper Logan Cassel in the 7th minute to give the home side the lead.
What followed was a dominant but ultimately fruitless second half from the hosts, as they held most of the match’s possession and never allowed Bristol to get much control of the ball. The visitor’s best chance came 41 minutes into the game, but even that was a far-too-long cross that fell past all potential goal scorers for a goal kick.
Charlottetowne, despite having nearly all of the ball, never managed to find a second in the first half, although they had several well-worked chances that ultimately fell short of adding to their lead. So while the halftime lead wasn’t necessarily indicative of the dominance from Charlottetowne, it was still one they would be happy to have heading into the break.
The second frame saw Bristol Rhythm coming out and looking to establish itself on the ball, but after a few minutes, the bulk of the possession was back at the feet of Charlottetowne, who were again on the search for a second goal.
It finally did come via another gem of build-up play from the Hops, as passes from DiLuzio, Hansen, and substitute Mason Cookus, linked up with midfielder Willie Cardona near the top of the box. And while Cardona didn’t immediately realize how much space he had, he turned and got the ball to striker Tyler Trimnal who found the slick run of Cardona, who fired a low shot at Cassel. But the Bristol keeper couldn’t control the rebound on his save, and Cardona slammed it into the open net to double Charlottetowne’s lead in the 58th minute.
Not long later, Cookus and Hansen linked up again on the Hops’ left wing before Cookus found space near the edge of the 18 and whipped in a left-footed cross toward the Rhythm goal. Trimnal stepped in the cross and smashed it past Cassel to give the Hops a decisive lead in the 71st minute of the match.
Bristol missed a few notable chances late in the game while chasing the match, but the majority of the game was played in the Charlottetowne attacking third with the visitors finding opportunities few and far between. The nearest they came to scoring was on a counter-attacking opportunity from striker Joe McMahon who fired a low shot at Hops’ goalkeeper Carter Nunnery. But the keeper was up to the task, saving the shot with his leg before McMahon’s striking partner, Dan Pinkney, fired wide of the goal.
It was an overall dominating performance from Charlottetowne, who have earned nine points through five league matches with five left to play. They’ll remain in 4th place in the Southeastern Conference, just one behind Apotheos FC and Appalachian FC. The Hops travel to Greenville United for their next match on June 15. As for the visiting Bristol Rhythm, they remain in 6th in the conference, having earned just three points in five matches. They are also on the road again on June 15, traveling to Atlanta to take on Apotheos FC.
Charlottetowne is next at home on June 22 against Port City FC.
