Gilroy
– Jose
”
Tapon
”
Velasquez cringes when he thinks about how Gilroy has competed
against the lesser Tri-County Athletic League teams in the
past.
Gilroy – Jose “Tapon” Velasquez cringes when he thinks about how Gilroy has competed against the lesser Tri-County Athletic League teams in the past.
It was somewhat like that during the first half Wednesday of the Mustangs’ encounter with North Salinas. Gilroy had seven corner kicks in the first 16 minutes and came away empty. In fact, the Mustangs couldn’t find the net in the first half despite some strong offensive rushes.
But Edgar Hernandez found the net in the 13th minute of the second half and Randy Moya added an insurance goal as Gilroy defeated the Vikings 2-0 at Garcia-Elder Complex.
“I was nervous after some of the games we had last year,” Velasquez said. “It seems that we shut down against weaker teams, that we play at their level. We’ve always got to keep going, no matter who we play.”
Hernandez scored for the second game in a row. He was assisted by Humberto Pineda, whose through pass was right on target. Hernandez bent a shot around the far side of the post.
Sixteen minutes later, Randy Moya unleashed a direct kick from 30 yards that found the back of the net.
“We created a lot of opportunities,” GHS co-coach Brian Hall said. “The timing was not there. The offense was there but the timing did not accompany all the effort we put into it. We persevered, though.”
“The effort was there,” Velasquez said. “I have to finish better. The team has to finish better.”
The Mustangs (7-2-3 overall, 2-0-2 TCAL) had a 12-1 advantage in shots on goal and 14-1 edge in corner kicks. The game was played almost entirely on the North Salinas side of the field.
“The defense wasn’t at its best but we still got the shutout,” said junior Kevin Grove. “It’s the third game in a row we gave up less than five shots. We’ve been getting help from the midfield which has been coming back to help out.”
In fact, the game was so dominated by the Gilroy offense that Grove noted that, “Guys (defenders) in the locker room were complaining that they were not getting touches.”
That’s the type of problem Hall would like to have more often. But the Mustangs don’t get a chance to rest on their laurels since they host Salinas at 6:30pm Friday in a key TCAL encounter.
