Fusion extends Kickers winless skid to three games - Carman Valley Leader

Fusion extends Kickers winless skid to three games
Sluggish starts proving to be costly

By Gene Still
Friday July 07, 2006

Carman Valley Leader — Slow starts are proving costly to the Carman Kickers especially when it comes to the win-loss column.
The Kickers sluggish start on June 26 against Fusion led to the visitors jumping out to a commanding 3-0 lead by half-time en route to a 3-0 victory over Carman. It marked the Kickers third loss in a row.
Carman Coach William Hoogerdijk was again left searching for answers to his club's seemingly Jekyll & Hyde performances. Starting poorly in the first part of a game only to come on strong in the second half.
"I honestly don't know. It is kind of frustrating because I see how they're capable of playing in the second half," Hoogerdijk said. "For whatever reason, it seems like they have to get their backs up against the wall before they start playing good.
(But) this was another one of those times when we didn't play as well in the first half. I don't know if it's a case of trying to be too fancy or maybe a bit lazy."
After opening the scoring on a penalty kick, Fusion added two more before the break and that was it for the scoring on this night.
However, much like their previous defeats to Sparta and the Winnipeg Triumph, the Kickers came out much stronger after the intermission.
"We carried the play a little better and did a pretty good job. We battled them to a draw in the (second) half," Hoogerdijk said. "But once again it was too little too late."
The defeat left Carman with a 2-4 record in fourth place in the Black conference of the Fourth Division.
Kickers notebook: Carman's next home game was scheduled for July 6 when they were to entertain Southport United. Results were unavailable as of press time. After that the Carman goes on the road for a July 12 match-up with the Luisitania Revolution.
The Kicker's next action at Carman Collegiate Soccer Field will be Monday, July 17 at 7:30 p.m. when they host the St. James Hurricane.