By Jon Johnson
The sting of an opening-round 1-0 playoff loss to Brave SC was evident on the faces of Dothan United players Thursday night long after the final whistle had blown.
Dragons’ goalkeeper Yago Darub sat between the goalposts as if stunned the season had come to a close. Some players still posed for pictures with loyal fans on the field and others gave autographs despite the obvious hurt.
For the first time in two years, Dothan United lost a game at Rip Hewes Stadium, which unfortunately put an end to the Dragons’ season with a 9-2-2 record.
“Bitterly disappointed,” Dothan United head coach Ricky Davey said. “I thought we were really good tonight, honestly. It’s raw right now. The boys have done so well all year and I think tonight against a team the caliber of that is probably one of our best performances.
“We just missed that final piece and one moment in the game that decides it against us, but incredible performance. They never stopped; they never kept going.”
The only goal came when Kanta Ishii scored in the last minute of a three-minute stoppage period to end the first half.
Dothan had plenty of scoring opportunities, but just couldn’t connect.
Penalties for offsides wiped out two Oskar Kaufmann goals – one in the first half and one in the second.
Davey was asked what he saw on the plays.
“I think the first one was probably offsides in the first half,” Davey said. “I’m not so sure about the second one. But credit to Brave. They won the game and did what they needed to do to move on, and we were not able to do it.”
Dothan had three great scoring opportunities near the end of the game.
A free kick by Tito Porter was knocked down by Brave SC goalie Youssef Moumban on a terrific diving save. Julian Jordheim missed on a close header right at the end of regulation. And during the 7-minute stoppage period before the game’s conclusion, Iman Ouedraoga, Jr., missed just wide on a shot.
“That’s why it hurts so much, I think, because of the performance,” Davey said. “I think nine-and-a-half out of 10 times if you play that way, you win the game. We concede one moment in the game and they score a goal.
“As a coach, I don’t think I could have asked for any more apart from that final piece. We just couldn’t do it tonight.”
Brave SC, the Southeast Division champion from The Villages, Fla., improves to 8-1-4 and next plays Fort Lauderdale United FC, the South Florida division champ, on Saturday at Rip Hewes Stadium for a chance to advance to the Southern Conference finals of the USL2 playoffs. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
In the opening playoff game Thursday, Fort Lauderdale United FC blanked Swarm FC 4-0. Fort Lauderdale United improved to 11–1-1, while Swarm FC, the South Central Division runner-up behind Dothan United, finished its season at 7-1-5.
The Dragons were missing two key players in the game – both attackers. Ryan Holmes injured a leg while practicing penalty kicks earlier in the week and Evan Howard was out with a hamstring injury.
It was only the second time the Dragons had been shutout this season – the other coming in a scoreless tie at home against Swarm FC.
Despite the ending, it was another remarkable season for the Dragons in its third year of operation.
Dothan United won the South Central Division championship of the Southern Conference for the first time in franchise history and hosted playoffs for the second year in a row.
It was the first season in charge for Davey, who took over after Carl Reynolds resigned to take another coaching role after two seasons as the head coach.
“Disappointing, but as time goes on and we move past into the next couple of days, I think the overriding will be it’s been a lot of fun,” Davey said. “We won a championship for the first time in terms of a division and got to host the playoffs again.
“It’s sore right now, but give it a couple of weeks and we’ll look back with fondness on the season. They’ve been unbelievable to work with – players, staff, support staff. I’ve enjoyed it so much – I think that’s why it hurts so much.”
