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By Jed Blackwell

 

Polk County finally converted a chance. East Henderson finally made good on a counter.

The result was a frantic two minutes late in the second half and a 1-1 tie as neither the Wolverines nor the Eagles could get a good look at a potential game-winner in the last five minutes.

“That’s us and East Henderson,” Polk County coach George Alley said. “They’re super competitive, they fly all over the place, and they’re not very orthodox. We kind of knock the ball around, we have ideas of what we want to do. They’re kind of ‘we’ve got the ball, let’s go.’ And they’re dangerous.”

The Wolverines had plenty of chances in the first half. There was a good look at the 29-minute mark and a shot at an empty net a minute later. Through balls, good runs, and a couple of point-blank chances all went begging. East Henderson keeper Fernando Miranda notched a good save at the 19:55 mark, and two more later in the half.

The result was a 0-0 tie that would last well beyond the half, deep into the second.

“I think we were controlling possession,” Alley said. “We were playing nice soccer, we were trying to get it around the outside, finish the crosses. It’s just that last minute of quality, and not finishing our chances.”

Miranda continued to frustrate Polk County’s offensive attack as the game went on.

“He is lightning-quick,” Alley said. “I mean, he’s like a cat. I remember that from last year. He’s not very tall, he doesn’t look like the most athletic, but buddy, he can move.”

Meanwhile, the Wolverines’ Charlie Wagoner was doing the same to the Eagles. Two saves inside the 20-minute mark of the second half, and another with 11 minutes left, preserved the tie.

Polk County (3-1-1) finally broke through on a corner kick that was played in low and hammered home by Manny Albarran with 7:23 to play. But the lead was short-lived. East Henderson (3-1-2) got a quick counter just two minutes later, with Tucker Waggoner finishing it off and tying the game at 1-1.

“They’re one of those teams that will let you control it all you want, because when they control it they’re coming at you at max speed and creating chaos,” Alley said. “But we played well, we were able to get a bunch of our reserve guys in and they got some quality minutes, and that’s encouraging going forward.”