By Jon Johnson
Dothan United – AKA The Circle City Scratchers for a night – found itself in a battle early before breaking away and winning an 8-2 friendly over Selección FC on Saturday night at Rip Hewes Stadium.
The non-league exhibition match gave Dothan United coach Ricky Davey a chance to rest most of his regular starters and give others on the roster valuable minutes.
Two local products were in the starting lineup in former Dothan High standout Ty Powell, a defender, and former Enterprise star Diego Sammur, a midfielder.
“We needed to give opportunities to guys who haven’t played a lot of minutes for many different reasons,” Davey said. “That first group is cemented a little bit over the last two-three weeks, but we do need an impact off the bench – we do need guys to come and give us good minutes – and also provide a spark to the team. I think a couple of guys did that tonight, and that was the most rewarding thing.”
For the second straight year, Dothan United partnered with Wiregrass Pets Rescue and Adoption for a special evening in which fans were encouraged to donate pet supplies in exchange for a free ticket.
Along those lines, the Dragons transformed into The Circle City Scratchers, wearing specially-designed uniforms for the game against a team composed of players from the Wiregrass and Florida Panhandle.
“Obviously it was a special night celebrating Wiregrass Pets and everything was for a good cause tonight,” Davey said. “We were glad to get out here and get it done, and on to the next.”
Selección came out strong and led 2-1 at the 19:50 mark of the first half before Dothan United scored the final seven goals.
“We always get everyone’s best when they come here and play,” Davey said. “I think some of it was a slow start from our guys; some of those guys have not played together in a while.
“We talked about a few things at halftime and we were much more solid … the ball moved a little quicker in the second half and we had a bit more energy about us.”
Dothan United opened the scoring less than two minutes into the match when Rodrigo Lopes scored on the doorstep off a beautiful assist from Anton Jerga.
But just two minutes later, Selección got on the scoreboard when Yostin Escobar scored on a kick from the corner that he neatly curled into the goal.
Escobar scored again at the 19:50 mark, getting a shot past goalkeeper Dillion Griner for the early 2-1 advantage.
Dothan United tied it back up on a header from newcomer Jakob Larson, who joined the team this week. Larson positioned himself well in front of the goal before an indirect kick by Jerga.
The Dragons then took the lead for good when Ivan “Speedy” Gonzalez got an easy chance after goalkeeper Jonah Sidanycz came out of the net to defend, and Gonzalez got around him to shoot into an open goal. Sammur got the assist.
Lopes recorded his second goal of the night on an indirect kick from about 30 yards out at the 34:40 mark. Harry Davison scored on an assist from Lopes to make it 5-2 at halftime.
To begin the second half, former Northview standout Alec Palanjian, who is a part-time starter, entered the game and played the rest of the way. Gabino Morin, a Slocomb High graduate who now resides in Dothan, entered in the second half and got valuable minutes.
Davison opened the scoring in the second half, Larson added his second tally to make it 7-2 and Morin scored on a penalty kick with 18 minutes left in the game for the final goal when he sent a sharp, low shot to the right of a diving goalkeeper.
The match proved to be a good reboot offensively for the Dragons after a scoreless tie against Swarm FC last Wednesday night in South Central division play of the USL2 Southern Conference.
Midfielder Axel Ambroise-Gravel was named the Man of the Match.
“We know he has talent,” Davey said. “He’s been nursing a couple of little injuries here and there, so we’ve had to ease him back into it. We talked about after the Swarm game that we need to be able to create more chances.
“Sometimes guys who have a lot of talent and almost a vision for those passes and crosses … I think he showed tonight that he has that quality.”
Dothan United (4-0-1) returns to action in league play this coming Wednesday on the road against the Birmingham Legion with a 6 p.m. starting time. The Dragons defeated Birmingham 4-0 in a home match earlier this season.
