LEWISTON — It was shaping up to be one of those games in which the right break or the odd bounce was doing to make the difference.

When Abdibaari Hersi found space to get a shot off late in regulation Thursday, his shot took a different route toward the net. It hit off an Edward Little defender and gave the Blue Devils that break they needed in a 1-0 victory over the Red Eddies.

“We got a break, but if you don’t make those opportunities, they don’t happen,” said Lewiston coach Mike McGraw.

Lewiston had put ample pressure on the EL defense for much of the second half but couldn’t finish. EL keeper Lew Jensen had a hand, or two, in that. He made 13 saves, many of the leaping and diving variety.

“They did a tremendous job defensively,” McGraw said. “We gave them everything we could. We got the break that we needed. Their goalkeeper did a tremendous job. He stopped some shots that usually get by.”

With 7:09 left in regulation, EL had done a fine job containing the Blue Devils attack. Lewiston was forced to pass the ball back from the left side toward the congested middle. That’s where Hersi suddenly found a little space to shoot.

“We had to move the ball around,” said Hersi. “We couldn’t go down the middle as usual. It was the one time that they opened up the middle, and I got a shot off.”

Jensen was moving to his right in reaction to the shot, but when it deflected off a defender, it changed direction. Leaning the other way, there was little Jensen could do to get to his left to make the stop.

“Our kids played very well,” said McGraw, whose team has won two straight after Saturday’s 4-0 loss against Hampden. “They focused and it was good. I was happy. It was a huge difference from the Hampden game. We played a lot better and with more determination.”

It was the first loss for EL (2-1-1), which has given up just two goals this season.

“After awhile, they were getting tired as well,” Hersi said. “They weren’t as compact as they were in the beginning. So that started opening it up more.”

After a scoreless first half, in which both teams created some pressure but couldn’t produce a scoring bid, Lewiston picked up the pace. The Blue Devils possessed the ball effectively and created a number of scoring chances.

Maslah Hassan had a low shot that Jensen made a diving save on. The keeper also stopped Abdi-Shariff Hassan and saved a curling shot by Abdulkarim Abdulle. Hersi had a dead ball that he put on net that Jensen grabbed. Lewiston also had shots by Maslah Hassan and Abdullahi Shaleh go wide.

“We just moved the ball around and tried to get the chance to finish,” Hersi said. “It’s early in the season but it’s working pretty good.”

EL’s best chances in the second half came off a deflection at the left post that keeper Austin Wing jumped to save. Jared Plourde had a free kick that went wide midway through the half. After Lewiston scored, EL had a try in the closing seconds when a dead ball was put toward the left post. It was steered toward the net but went wide.

kmills@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link