Black Hawks soar over Phoenix in 1-0 win
Tommy Hedges nets lone goal as Bloomfield Hills edges Pontiac
BLOOMFIELD HILLS » The host Bloomfield Hills Black Hawks defeated the Pontiac Phoenix 1-0 on senior night Monday evening.
The Black Hawks got the game’s only goal with 11:24 remaining in the first half when Anteo Dordic fired a long free kick over everyone’s head. Tommy Hedges won the race to the ball for Bloomfield Hills and slotted home a shot past the charging goalkeeper.
Pontiac had their chances to tie the game, coming closest with 11:16 remaining in the game when Juan Barrientos-Gova slammed a shot off the crossbar.
Led by the play of captains Brandon Hernandez and Brandon Preciado-Hernandez, Pontiac had a handful of other scoring chances as well. The Phoenix nearly went in front early on, but Black Hawks goalkeeper Kosta Sergakis made a great leaping save off a header.
“They gave it all they’ve got. I’m proud of these guys. It’s our second game, so we needed to get this in. We definitely had chances, and it was just a flicker that got us,” Phoenix head coach Wee Brikho said. “Trust the process. We gave them the formation. We gave them the shape. They stuck by it. We had chances. We missed, but that’s part of the game. When we get our chances, we have to take advantage of them,” he added.
The Black Hawk defense, led by senior captain Joseph Kirner, came up with a handful of big plays, especially down the stretch when Pontiac was pressing for the tying goal.
“Joey is a senior, and he’s played in the varsity for three years. He is a great leader, and he was not just effective on the ball and off the ball, but he was great at organizing the guys around him,” Bloomfield Hills head coach Dougie MacAulay said. “He’s a great presence.”
At the other end, Hedges and the Black Hawks had a handful of chances of their own as Hedges and Sherif Mohamed got loose on breakaways from time to time as the Bloomfield Hills counterattack created opportunities when Pontiac pressed for the tying goal.
Bloomfield Hills came closest to adding to their lead on another breakaway shortly after Hedges had put Bloomfield Hills in front. But the second time around, Pontiac goalie Ronaldo Castaned won the battle, coming off his line and smothering the ball. Much like Kirner and the Black Hawk defense, Larry Bernarl-Martinez and the Pontiac defenders also came up with some key interventions to force tougher shots out of the Bloomfield Hills attackers on several occasions.
“It was a good solid team performance,” MacAulay said. “We’ve just got to get better at finishing. We’ve not scored more than one goal in any game this year. So that’s a big statistic, and we really need to change that.”
With the win, Bloomfield Hills improves to 1-3-1 overall and 1-0-1 in a tight OAA Blue Division. The Black Hawks step out of the division for a non-league match up against
Warren De La Salle on Tuesday.
“We’re just happy we got a 1-0 win, and it keeps us in contention for the league. But we know we’re going to have a hard game when we got back there (to Pontiac for the rematch later in the season).”
Pontiac (1-1 overall and in the OAA Blue) also has a quick turnaround when they host Avondale on Tuesday in another divisional match up.
“I think every single one of them played their hearts out. They played as a team. Every single one played as a team,” Brikho said. “I think all 11 of them gave everything.”