The Fusion headed to an unpromising tie at Detroit City's Keyworth Stadium with the serious threat of a blowout against a team with a longer history of...well most things, than they do.
The Fusion squad featuring 10 (1, in Miah Wills did not play) former FC Fargo players finished the regular season 9-0-5 (Wins, draws and losses - since you get more points for a draw than a loss) and scrapped their way into the playoffs in a division against teams with that same advantage in experience.
By the way, those ten are:
Steve Harris (Fusion's starting goalie all season), came to the area to play varsity at Jamestown.
Habib Beljulji (also a goalie), came to Moorhead as his family fled Kosovo.
Sunaj Beljulji also played for us. Emra Beljulji played for Fusion but not for us.
Ben Prochniak, West Fargo High and then Jamestown.
Fiaz Musa, came here to play soccer. Born in Khartoum, lived in Des Moines.
Ben Eastwell and George Gauld both have roots in southern England, played at Jamestown.
Finally, Jade freaking Johnson. Almost the leading goalscorer at this whole entire level this season, and also a marathon runner with a job refuelling aircraft.
He tweeted this out after the end of today's game:
Proved I could play on a torn hamstring. Though it wasn't pretty I still gave 110% and that's a win in my book. Awesome experience
Christopher Kumon, Louis Grant and Jack Hartley tried out for FC but weren't selected.
Aris is a clusterfuck and they should either a) fold their tents and move to a city where they have a real stadium or b) just give up. There's a reason I used to call their home 'pitch' The Aris Hole. No social media either, but they aren't alone in that.
So Fusion got on their bus and drove to to Hamtramck. It started well, with Fusion first holding City and then Zuheer al-Abase putting the Black and Gold ahead, but City got an equaliser soon after and went ahead when Sunaj misjudged a tackle tracking back. 2-1 down at the half.
With a solid start to the second half, things may have been different but City scored again after only 2 mins.
The last 15 minutes were a shit show. Referee have a penalty which shouldn't have been given, for a shoulder charge, and the increased temperature of the Fusion backline manifested itself in a straight red for a tackle by Big Ben Eastwell. So one more goal after the red card but arguably two which may not have occurred if the ref had not awarded the 2nd penalty.
So the Fusion are 0-0-1 in playoff footy and it was not a blowout. At this level there are always lessons to learn. These guys all play for the love of the game and true amateur spirit and I hope those youngsters in the Fusion team or in stands from Tri-City would have gained inspiration from the veterans.
Another thing that is inevitable at this level is player turnover, as guys graduate school and - especially in Fargo - move elsewhere for work or to a town where a professional contract can be offered.
If you are a die-hard fan then it always sucks to see your team lose. Doubly so to see your team eliminated but the North was a competitive conference whether measured by market size or PPG.
The North is part of NPSL's Midwest region, which features the #1 team in the whole of the league in points per game, Ann Arbor. Tonight's match was #16 vs #23 in overall terms.
The hosts of the semis and finals at regional (and then national) level have yet to be announced but the Midwest matchups will be:
Ann Arbor vs Dayton Dynamo and Detroit v Duluth.
Time will tell if the rest helps or hinders Ann Arbor and Duluth.
That's it for me on this blog for this season, and my FC Fargo shirt is going into my 'out of season' draw.
Enjoy the rest of the playoffs,
Tim
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