Southport United doubles up in the W column with a 1-0 win -The Daily Graphic

Southport United doubles up in the W column with a 1-0 win


By Julie Horbal
The Daily Graphic
Thursday June 29, 2006

Ray Chabot just might be as close to David Beckham-esque stardom as he is ever going to get.
Chabot buried the lone goal for Southport United last night in the squad’s 1-0 win over Tri-S Strike Force and -- from the moment the marker found the net to the moment the final whistle blew -- there was no bigger hero on the Southport soccer scene.
The goal got United (2-3-2) out of a five-game Manitoba Major Soccer League Fourth Division winless skid and even the humble scorer himself admitted it was nice to finally break the bank.
“It was great to get the ball rolling and finally get some wins for us,” said Chabot, who returned to the Southport lineup last night after missing a couple outings because of a concussion. “It was great to get out of our losing streak and get away from our ties.”
After 80 minutes of chipping and sliding in every attempt to break a scoreless tie, Chabot took off on a hard drive towards Tri-S keeper Eric Rensfelt, fired one shot and then stole the rebound from Rensfelt to sink the deciding goal.
The marker could not have come at a better time, as Southport was on its last and very tired legs -- but Chabot suggested the squad, no matter how exhausted, would not have settled for anything less.
“We were hungry for that goal,” he said. “We didn’t have lots of subs, but we just kept on pressing and luckily we got one.”
Though the scoreboard did not reflect it, United had the pressure on for most of the contest and was getting near-shots away in abundance.
According to Southport coach Albert Philippot, the problem up until Chabot sunk his goal was a lack of finish around the net -- though the coach was not one for nitpicking after a big win.
“When we have possession, we can’t often put the ball in the net, so we’ll have to work on that. We have to finish earlier and take better shots on the net,” Philippot said.
“We had awesome chances and we put some of those wide. But I am not going to put the guys down. It was an awesome game.”
Southport fought against some very scrappy Strike players -- two of whom were yellow-carded in the affair -- but came hard and came back after a rough first half.
“At the end of the first half, we seemed to be struggling, but I talked to the guys and told them to pass the ball a little bit more and slow down their running,” Philippot said. “It seemed to work at moments and at moments there were momentary lapses, but things can be worked out.”
United did a good job of working the kinks out through the second half, but still had trouble settling the ball and keeping possession.
Those “small adjustments” can be made fairly easily, however, said Philippot, who could not constructively criticize his glowing squad without doubling praise after the big win.
“Sure want to generate a little more offence and a little more ball control,” the coach said. “But this was a very nice victory for us. It moves us up in the standings and it motivates us and gives us more confidence. It was a huge game.”