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The least important result of a preseason scrimmage is its final “score.”

Stas Korzeniowski scored for the Union in the 9^th minute in a fashion gloriously familiar to fans of Union II late last year, from the right side of the box to the far left post on the ground with his right foot. Olomouc countered with a header from a corner kick melee in the 73^rd.

Who played

Of much greater significance is which Union players played and which did not, in what combinations, and for how long. Head coach Bradley Carnell put out two entirely different sides for each 45 minute half. He made no substitutions in the first half and only one in the 82^nd minute of the second. That means 23 players played and five did not.

The omitted were goalkeeper and oft-time captain Andre Blake, striker Sal Olivas, striker/attacking midfielder Markus Anderson, center back Rafael Uzcategui and midfielder C. J. Olney. We hope Blake is a coach’s decision headed “unnecessary.” Uzcategui is from Venezuela (see discussions of fellow Venezuelan Gio Sequera below). We have no insights into Olivas, Anderson, and Olney. They all have been in the video segments the club have been posting on social media, including yesterday’s. (Thank you, Kim Ahrens!)

The first half Union players were goalkeeper Andrew Rick, left back Ben Bender, left center back Olwethu Makhanya, right center back Sery Larsen, a trialist at right back whom we think must have been Gio Sequera because the number was what he has worn for Union II for the last two seasons, defensive mid Danley Jean Jacques, defensive mid Jesus Bueno, attacking mid Milan Iloski, attacking mid and captain Alejandro Bedoya, striker Ezekiel Alladoh, and goal scoring striker Korzeniowski.

The second half players were goalkeeper George Marks, left back Frank Westfield, left center back Nathan Harriel, right center back Finn Sundstrom, right back Olivier Mbaizo, defensive mid Jovan Lukic, defensive mid Jeremy Rafanello, attacking mid Indiana Vassilev, attacking mid Cavan Sullivan, striker Bruno Damiani, and striker Eddy Davis for whom striker Malik Jakupovic substituted in the 82^nd minute.

Gleanings from first half play

The first half center back combination of Makhanya and Larsen seemed strong. They felt like the probable starters. They seemed to fit together. It helped that the defensive mids in front of them were both experienced and used to playing together, Danley Jean Jacques and Jesus Bueno. The quartet illustrated how to control so-called zone 14 quite well. The exerted enough pressure that the Czechs were not shooting accurately with any of their numerous decent chances.

The first half striker combination of Alladoh and Korzeniowski was menacing for the first ten or fifteen minutes. They may have taken the Czechs by surprise, but also Korzeniowski was as energetic as Alladoh at the beginning. Then, the discrepancies in their current levels of conditioning began to show. Alladoah has been playing regularly in the Allsvenskan, Sweden’s top flight, and is in midseason form. But this was only the second time in his life that Korzeniowski has played in a first team match. The conditioning discrepancy may be why Carnell paired them. In any case Alladoh is ready to high press as a striker in the Union’s system right now. Korzeniowski has yet to get there for more than a cameo.

To a layman’s eye Ben Bender was a credible left back. He made no horrible defensive mistakes that we noticed. He read the game with good anticipation. And he advanced the ball in combination the teammates around him. No one will provide Kai Wagner’s offense. But Bender looked competent at the position.

On the other side Sequera made no egregious errors either. He did not advance the ball as well in combination with Bedoya as Bender did with Iloski. But as a Union II player last year he has probably not played in combination with Bedoya as much as  Bender and Iloski may have done.

We do not know who fed Korzeniowski for the Union’s goal. It was not a build-up play but a surprise from a preceding melee.

Gleanings from the second half

Finn Sundstrum knew and executed all the basic moves of a center back with good timing. His reads were on point and timely. But he and Nathan Harriel were not as smoothly coordinated as Larson and Makhanya had been in the first half. That should be no surprise  as neither has played as well as those two have at the position. Once Sundstrum was taken by surprise when a pass he expected to work was anticipated and intercepted by his Czech opponent. He needs experience. We have no idea how long he and Harriel have been practicing together, we suspect not long at all since Sundstrom was away in Arizona all last week.

The defensive mid combination in front of them was not as strong as the first half’s either. Jeremy Rafanello is only a recent convert to defensive mid and might be described as competent at the basics, still a place holder rather than a game influencer.

At attacking midfield Cavan Sullivan, no longer blond, covered ground well and pressed for the entire 45 minutes. He remains short, but by no means  as short as he was. And his conditioning seemed comparable to Alladoh’s. Indiana Vassilev did not have his usual impact on play, probably because he had not practiced much with the combinations surrounding him.

Bruno Damiani at striker continued to deal out punishment to those trying to defend him. It was a friendly so he received no cards. His strike partner Eddy Davis looks light he may have added more muscle. Davis’s speed forced an Olomouc substitution around the 60^th minute. Jakupovic had little effect when he came on, illustrating how extraordinary fellow 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan is.

A tip of the cap

Jose Nunez (@JoserNunez91) provided the information that the Olomouc livestream would be showing on their channel on YouTube. Thank you, sir.