Outmanned, But Not Outclassed

Men’s Soccer Team Can’t Hang On for Win Against Carabins

SportsJoseph Ste Marie — Published October 26, 2010

An outnumbered Stingers squad squandered three important points at the conclusion of Oct. 22’s 2-2 draw with the Université de Montréal Carabins at Concordia Stadium.

“It’s disappointing because we had the three points in the bag,” said Stingers head coach Lloyd Barker.
The game was fast paced with an intense second half as Stingers midfielder Claude-Arthur Diesse was sent off with 25 minutes left in the game. Diesse took down Carabins defender Peter-Thierry Eustache after both players had a little scuffle.

Eustache was only issued a yellow card. Barker commented on Diesse’s actions after the game and said they were unacceptable, especially since the team was leading 2-1.

Three minutes into the game, Montréal Forward Damir Rosic chipped the ball over Stingers goalkeeper Nicholas Giannone’s head to make it 1-0.

The Stingers were briefly stunned by the goal, but quickly got over it with some good chances by midfielder Peter Bow and forward Matthijs Eppinga.

The hard work by the Stingers finally paid off with midfielder Shady Shalaby tying the game 1-1 with a pass from Eppinga.

“We were the better team, then we let them off the hook.”
—Lloyd Barker,
Stingers Head Coach

Barker made a goalkeeping swap by replacing Giannone with Khalid Ismail at the start of the second half.
The Stingers had more possession of the ball in the second half and a goal by defender David Cerasuolo made it seem like they had secured all three points.

However, Diesse was dismissed moments after the go-ahead goal, leaving the Stingers one man short.
The Stingers then lost midfielder Ali Naffi through injury and the Carabins tied the game with five minutes left. “We were the better team, then we let them off the hook,” said Barker. “We weren’t able to hold on and [the Carabins] got a good break on their part to score.”

The Stingers’ dreams of making the playoffs were dashed on Sunday as they fell to the UQAM Citadins 2-0. The team will end its season with a pair of away games at McGill and UQTR this weekend.

This article originally appeared in Volume 31, Issue 11, published October 26, 2010.