1-1 Draw for Des Moines United FC and FC Milwaukee Torrent

By Des Moines United FC

Des Moines United FC started the game by pressuring the visitors.  Attacker Lesego Maloma nearly scored in the first minute, but Milwaukee’s Nick Chappa was on point to make the first save of the game. 

Des Moines United was very proactive in the first 15 minutes of the game, but Chiappa was just as inspired to make sure Des Moines United wouldn’t score.  Milwaukee Torrent started to counterattack and be more present on the offensive third of the field, putting the Des Moines United defenders on their toes. 

As time went on, the Torrent defended well and countered with precision, and it paid off for them as they started the counterattack on the left side.  A perfect ball was played to Lucas Nesthus who finished the play and got Milwaukee Torrent up 1-0.  Des Moines United pressured and created more chances, but Chiappa was very inspired and kept the visitors up 1-0 in the first half of the game.

Des Moines United came back with a different attitude but kept being denied by Milwaukee’s goalkeeper.  With time running out, the only option for Des Moines United was to get more speed up front and push up the lines to try to even out the game.  It did pay off when Guilherme Cunha intercepted a pass, put the ball between the defender’s legs, and took a shot from 25 yards out, hitting the goal post.  That was the momentum the home team needed to start pushing the lines and get the equalizer.

After a short corner kick, Cunha got a perfect cross to Erich Legut who headed the ball past the Milwaukee Torrent’s goalkeeper.  With the equalizer, Des Moines United kept pushing and almost got the winning goal with Sora Noda, but again, Chiappa was there to deny another clear chance for the home team.

Des Moines United head coach JR Fernandes shared his thoughts on the match.

“We created the chances tonight, but we were not able to finish our opportunities,” Fernandes said. “We could have opened the score early in the game and made it better for our team.  Unfortunately for us, their goalkeeper was very inspired today and made big saves to keep Milwaukee in the game.   Now is the time to correct what we did not do well because we already play them again next Wednesday at their home field in front of their fans.  Let’s work on finishing and cleaning up our passes so we do not have the same mistakes we had tonight.”

Des Moines United FC is still leading the conference with 10 points in 5 games played, and Milwaukee Torrent is right behind them with 5 points in 3 games played.  The game on Wednesday, June 7th will be crucial for both teams.  It could be very important for either team to keep their dream of finishing at the top of the conference

Photo Credit: Doug Wells