Wednesday night’s match, the fourth in a span of 12 days, was Brave SC’s first taste of the often painfully compact USL League Two schedule. However, the Buffalo finished the run as strongly as they started it, capping off their first loop through the roster of divisional opponents with a 3-0 win over Inter Gainesville KF at the Southwest Recreation Center Fields at the University of Florida.
“I was a little bit concerned about tonight’s game,” head coach Anderson DaSilva said. “We didn’t know anything about the opponent and, coming off a big win, sometimes the players can get a little relaxed. Right away, though, the players put me at ease.”
The Buffalo (5-0-2) capitalized on two Inter Gainesville (2-4-1) turnovers and another brilliant combination between Fabio Rodrigues and Nico Diaz to earn the result, another multi-goal win en route to a commanding position in USL League Two’s Southeast Division.
Wednesday marked the first time in three matches, though, that Brave recorded a goal in the first half. In the 21st minute, an errant Inter free kick in Inter’s own defensive third came right to the foot of Oscar Resano, who quickly drove it back toward goal for the match’s opening score.
“It feels good,” Diaz said of the first-half tally. “Obviously, we had more chances to put more goals up in the first half so, while we were happy to be one-nil up, we were still focused on putting more goals in the net in the second, but it is a good confidence booster going up one at half.”
At the other end, Gainesville made a couple of runs, using speed on the wings to bring the ball into the Buffalo box. However, center backs Henrique Gallina and Niclas Wittur deterred anything that came within 10 yards of Mathias Tieppo’s goal and, when fullbacks Agustin Belgiorno and Breno Correia weren’t shutting down the runs on the wings, they were looping inside to provide backup.
“We did a really good job training this week, working on the backline — the shift, the cover, the communication — and I think we executed really well today,” Gallina said. “They had a couple chances, but nothing critical where they actually had a good shot on goal and Mathias had to make a huge save.”
In the 69th, the Buffalo found a second goal, again off a turnover, which Alvaro Carrera pounced on for his fourth of the year.
The final goal came in the 73rd when Rodrigues, making a run up the left side, crossed the ball to Diaz, who put it inside the right post with a header.
“It was just a quick transition,” Diaz said. “Fabinho got the ball out wide, I saw the left center back was kind of tucked in pretty far, so I went running back post and Fabinho put it right on my head. Again, he made it easy for me.”
DaSilva emptied his bench in the final 15 minutes of the contest and the Buffalo walked off the field victorious for the fifth match in a row. Now, they get a week to recover before their third battle with Brooke House FC next week in Orlando.
“I was a little concerned about this stretch, (the possibility of) losing points,” DaSilva said, “but we finished it really well. In two games, we scored six goals, so now we have a week to reset and work on the things we haven’t been able to because it’s been such a tight schedule, and I hope we come back even more organized and more aggressive.”
Brave SC’s next match will be against Brooke House FC (0-6-4) at 7 p.m. June 26th at Bishop Moore Catholic High School in Orlando.
For more information on Brave SC, including the roster, Southeast Division table and a complete schedule, visit BraveSC.com.