Undermanned United respectable in defeat-PDG

BY JOEY PAYEUR

Thursday September 01, 2005PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE — The result was one Southport United has seen far too often this season, but the effort was one the local soccer squad could be proud of.Granted, it was no easy pill to swallow to watch St. James Seawolves (15-0-2) clinch Fourth Division of Manitoba Major Soccer League last night with a 2-0 win over United (0-12-4) at Southport Recreation Centre.But considering Southport kept the score from getting out of hand despite being short one man the entire game while facing the first-place Seawolves, this was a loss which had some positives attached to it.“I think it says a lot about the character of our team,” said United goalkeeper Steve Assenmacher, who watched virtually the entire game played right in front of him as Southport was hemmed in its own half by the pressuring St. James attack.“Even being a man down, we played very hard. It’s a little disappointing not to have a full squad out for a home game.”An unforgiving crosswind which made the last day of August feel like October played havoc with the flow of the game, as any aerial pass slammed into the prevailing gusts like they were a brick wall.The Seawolves did all their damage in the first half, with Scott Pettit taking advantage of Assenmacher’s indecisiveness to beat the charging keeper to the ball before putting it off his hands and in for a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute. It was the only goal St. James keeper Ryan Thorkelson would need on his way to a fairly easy shutout.Sean Morgan capped the scoring in the 40th minute, outracing Southport defender Glenn McCulloch to a loose ball and firing a shot to the far side of the net.St. James’ best chance in the second half came on a penalty kick after McCulloch was called for a foul in the 18-yard box. But Nick Giancola slammed the free shot off the left post, and another shot off the rebound was stopped by Assenmacher, who believes that first official win is still there for the taking.“After we played these guys the last time, we were energized for the next three games,” he said. “I wish we could play them more often. They make us bring our level up to where it should be.”Tenth-place Southport will finish the season with a home-and-home series against Ragnarok (10-5), which is tied with Winnipeg Triumph for third place in the division with 30 points.United hosts Ragnarok in its final appearance at Southport Recreation Centre this season on Sept. 7, before heading to Winnipeg to close the year on Sept. 9.back