Battle Born FC growing, but shows signs of infancy in opening home weekend
Angel Gonzalez winds up prior to scoring his second goal Saturday for Battle Born FC in the club’s first-ever home contest, conducted on the Carson High practice soccer field.
Photo by Carter Eckl.
Battle Born FC’s home-opening weekend wasn’t exactly a success, at least in terms of results. The squad tied Boise 3-3 after giving up a late tally in the final moments, spoiling a 3-2 lead BBFC had at halftime. Angel Gonzalez buried the first two for Battle Born FC before Luis Martinez tallied the third. Sunday brought another tough loss for the newly formed squad, dropping a 2-1 contest to Kongo FC. It was the second meeting of the season in both matchups, bringing an extra level of physicality to each meeting. Trailing 1-0 Sunday, BBFC got a little help on a corner kick as a Kongo FC midfielder put the ball in his own net in the 67th minute. However, the same midfielder scored the final tally in stoppage time to give Kongo FC the 2-1 win. A new team full of talented athletes, each of which looking to prove themselves, has certainly presented its challenges for the coaching staff. “At this level, the level of mistakes is even higher,” said head coach Andrew Robles. “It’s a professional level and everyone can play the game at a high pace, … we’re transitioning to that.” The talent and skill on the roster is obvious and BBFC has proven it can contend with the best in its division, but building team chemistry dynamics among the top players in the area showed its challenges over the weekend. Those dynamics were on full display on fast break attempts where BBFC players in offside positions stepped in front of wayward teammates to get their own shot, resulting in turnovers. “Every week we have new players coming in that are interested and quality, that want to play for us,” said Robles, “college players, ex-pro players, a lot of different dynamics for us. We are trying to make the playoff roster. At this level, it’s cutthroat.” Disconnected passing and overly aggressive defending eventually resulted in the two goals that cost the new club a chance at more points in its first home games. An added distraction is having home fans escorted out by the team owner mid-game for verbal abuse of opposing players. “People are paying to see games. The passion is there, that’s what we want, but we have to monitor what they say,” said Robles. “When it comes down to it, these are still players, human beings, so we have to make sure that’s understood as well.” Saturday’s draw and Sunday’s loss leaves Battle Born FC with a 3-1-3 (W-D-L) record and 10 points, leaving them in fifth after the weekend. The club has three remaining games on its schedule, all of which will be played at home. Two of the three comes against the bottom three teams in the UPSL Premier Division Western Conference Mountain region, leaving the club with a chance to gain some points. The club will once again have home games Saturday and Sunday, with kickoff times to be announced. Standings Games played Record (W-D-L) Points Real Salt Lake 8 6-0-2 18 African Stars 8 5-0-3 15 Kongo FC 8 5-0-3 15 Boise Cutthroats 8 4-1-3 13 Battle Born FC 7 3-1-3 10 FC Spider 6 3-0-3 9 Sierra Nevada FC 6 1-0-5 3 Utah Saints 7 1-0-6 3
