By Jon Johnson
The final tune-up for Dothan United before the regular season opener coming up this Saturday night was intended to give new head coach Ricky Davey a better feel for his club.
Mission accomplished.
The Dragons took on Fort Rucker FC on Tuesday night at Rip Hewes Stadium in an exhibition match in which Dothan got off to a strong start and then was able to get multiple players valuable minutes.
“Our thoughts were to play the game as normal as we could, and we’re preparing for Saturday … that’s ultimately our job and that’s what we have to do,” Davey said. “Just physically getting after it and getting two groups of players a half of futbol and just building on what we had been heading into Saturday.”
Davey was appreciative of the opposition giving it their all in providing good competition from nearby Fort Rucker.
“Just an amazing opportunity to thank Fort Rucker and the Army, and everything they do for us in keeping us safe, and obviously all the other Armed Forces, too,” Davey said of the match up. “That was the biggest thing tonight.”
Dothan opens the regular season and defense of its Southern Conference title on Saturday night at home with a South Central Division match against Montgomery United FC starting at 7 p.m.
On Tuesday, Ryan Holmes scored five first-half goals for the Dragons against Fort Rucker. The attacker scored three goals in the first exhibition match against LAX FC two Saturdays ago in what was a 15-0 win.
“He’s got an incredible knack for goals,” Davey said. “Sometimes he gets himself into good positions and he also has that instinct where sometimes that ball falls to him in front of the goal, which is really nice to have.
“He’s been great so far. He’s doing all the little things right and the rewards are coming. It’s been a great preseason for him, and hopefully he takes that into Saturday and we see some more goals from him.”
While Dothan has played well offensively during the two exhibition games and haven’t given up a goal, Davey is in no way satisfied.
“I think we could be a lot better,” Davey said when asked about the defense. “We’ve got to organize better, and we’ve got to do things to an elite level to get to where we want to get to. I don’t think we’ve done that just yet.
“At the end of the day, there have been strides in training. I think we probably didn’t see the best of it tonight, but hopefully we’ll get there.”
The coach is pleased with how the team is meshing after being together for such a short period of time.
“I think that’s been the biggest takeaway from the mini-preseason, let’s call it,” Davey said. “Relationships are starting to build and I think they’re working for each other.
“There are just a few things to clean up here and there, but that’s going to be the case throughout the season. Hopefully, we don’t peak until later in the season, but we’re able to kind of keep winning – that’s the goal.”
The scoring began at the 6:51 mark of the first half when Tito Porter scored off a rebound following a shot by Josh Hallenberger.
A few minutes later, Holmes scored his first goal on a header following a corner kick by Pablo Portero to make it 2-0. Rodrigo Lopes got in on the fun with a goal on a breakaway down the right side at 12:24 of the first half.
Holmes would then score the next four goals, the first coming after Lopes won a ball and zipped a pass ahead to his teammate for an easy score and a 4-0 lead. Next, Holmes received a pass around midfield and went in on goal to connect for a 5-0 advantage. Holmes added two more before Lopes scored on a penalty kick to make it 8-0.
Dyson Clapier scored to make it 9-0, Lopes scored on an assist from Hallenberger and Portero added the final first half tally when he curled one in from a corner kick for the 11-0 halftime lead.
Dakota Henry, Oscar Kaufmann and Justin Nelson scored early goals in the second half as the Dragons played steady throughout the final 45 minutes.
Dothan United v Fort Rucker
