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ILMvHAR

My life is officially too busy when I can’t make it to a Hammerheads game. Between SATs and moving, I was only able to catch the first half of yesterday’s game against Harrisburg on YouTube. At this rate, it seems like it will be probably be next weekend before I can watch the second half, so I’ve decided to (prematurely) write about the half I did see. Maybe this post will be completely obsolete to anyone who saw the whole game, but I’m going to write it anyway

Since I’ve been blogging, I’ve tried to look at games differently. Although I’m writing about the Hammerheads, the club that I grew up loving and thought were the pinnacle of professional soccer until I discovered the Internet, I try to keep my writing neutral, even if my heart is not. I also apply considerable effort to fight my gut reaction. If they win, my initial reaction is to be happy. If they lose, my initial reaction is to be upset. In my writing, I try to be a little more reasonable because I want my posts to go beyond the score line.

All of that being said, the Hammerheads lost 4-0 last night, which puts them 10th place in the standings. I think my gut is right on this one…honestly, that was pretty bad.
But, the play I saw within the first half was the exact opposite of bad.

The Hammerheads made six shots, three of which forced saves. That is not horrible. At the risk of sounding completely unrealistic, I’m just going to state my opinion: I don’t think the Hammerheads put in a terrible performance (at least in first half).  

There was a point in the match where I thought the game was moving very slow. After a few minutes, I realized that was the way it was supposed to be. The Hammerheads were patiently pacing themselves and were keeping possession. There where minutes where the Islanders interrupted that flow, but it was obvious that Wilmington had some kind of method to the madness. Every time I saw the Hammerheads lose possession, they regained it.

I’m not so naïve as to think the Hammerheads were absolutely perfect and three goals just sprung upon them in the second half, but the first half performance was not as atrocious as a 4-0 defeat sounds.

I was impressed with all three of the new Hammerhead signings. Bassogog really stood out to me because of his incredible speed. None of the three new signings are older than twenty, which is a great thing. They are all good players already, and they have years to improve. Hopefully, those years will be spent with the Hammerheads and contribute to the team for years to come.

A loss is not the ideal result, but I believe team performance was decent in the first half. Right now, the Hammerheads are in tenth place, but there are twenty two more games to play. I have not seen any performance so horrible this season that makes me believe the players on this team are not capable of brilliance. It might take them awhile to get there, but I think this will be a winning squad before the season’s end.

Am I right?


--Marissa Blackman
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