By Jon Johnson
By the time the rain arrived at the beginning of the second half Wednesday, Dothan United already had built a 3-0 lead.
The cushion allowed the Dragons to play a bit more conservative in the second half on the way to wrapping up a 4-0 win over Birmingham Legion at Rip Hewes Stadium.
“We didn’t really realize it was raining until we came back out,” Dothan United coach Ricky Davey said. “It (field) plays real fast when it’s wet, so it’s a little bit difficult for both teams, to be honest. But we tightened up defensively a lot more in the second half … gave less away.”
Dothan improved to 3-0 and sits atop the South Central standings of the Southern Conference.
After not being able to generate much offense over the first 20 minutes, Josh Salas got the offense rolling with a goal at the 20:57 mark when he fired a shot from 24 yards out to the right of a diving Birmingham goalkeeper.
“I just saw the goalie out of position and just shot it,” Salas said. “It was unbelievable.”
Salas, a returning player from a year ago, likes how the team is blending.
“We have a bunch of talented players,” Salas said. “Of course, we have a bunch of new guys and we are still getting to know each other, but I think all the guys are on the same page.
“We have this feeling that we are family. It doesn’t matter who is playing, or who is starting, we just play as a family.”
About five minutes after the opening goal, the Dragons made it 2-0 when Oskar Kaufmann scored off an assist from Tiago Campos.
It would be Campos scoring the next goal a few minutes into stoppage time right before halftime as he curved a shot in from the far left corner to put the Dragons up 3-0 at the break.
“Once that first goal came, I thought that was massive,” Davey said. “I think after that we took control and it gave us a little more confidence. To score two in quick succession after that was nice.
Rodrigo Lopes tallied the final goal of the night about nine minutes into the second half off an assist by Alec Palanjian, who centered the ball.
“Happy that the scoring is being shared,” Davey said. “I think we’re leaving a couple on the field, but again, we’ll take it tonight.”
While the Dragons looked fairly dominant in taking the shutout win, Davey wasn’t totally happy.
“I’m a little frustrated, if I’m honest,” Davey said. “I think there’s a lot we can be better at, but when you have that and you win 4-nil, it’s not a bad thing.”
Davey notes the Dragons are building strong depth. Several players came out with what appeared to be minor injuries – goalkeeper Yago Darub (left leg) and Kaufmann (cramp) – but the Dragons continued strong play.
“Useful tonight,” Davey said of the team’s depth. “We had Yago complaining about a knee injury. Oskar came off with I think a cramp more than anything. The depth definitely helps, and we’ll need it come Saturday. We’re managing things as we go. The depth is big time right now.”
When Darub exited the game with around 20 minutes to play, Dillon Griner replaced him and completed the shutout.
“It’s not real often you change the goalkeeper, but it’s nice to get Dillon into a game and feel it a little bit,” Davey said. “I thought he did great when he came in. Great for Dillon to experience, and who knows, down the line we may need him.”
Midfielder Harry Davison, on his 21st birthday, also got some playing time when Kaufmann came out.
Dothan now turns its attention to a home game Saturday night against Columbus (Ga.) United. The game will be streamed nationally as the USL2 Game of the Week beginning at 7 p.m.
Columbus is in second place in the division with a 1-0-3 record.
