Taylor 'dresses down' team after shutout victory in CPIC play
By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on September 22, 2010 1:47 PM
Michael Taylor's post-game speech didn't sound like it was from coming from a winning head coach.
Taylor had plenty of reasons to be upset after watching Wayne Country Day trudge through a 1-0, Coastal Plains Independent 1-A Conference victory at home over Faith Christian of Rocky Mount on Tuesday afternoon.
In a rematch of the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A state semifinals from a year ago, both teams appeared to lack focus and offensive flow. Neither team maintained a consistent amount of possession and play was littered with fouls and yellow cards.
"I just did not think we were mentally ready to play this game," said Taylor. "We let the emotions of the game get a hold of us. It's just unreal and we're going to have a reality check (Wednesday) at practice. I'm tired of petty stuff and whining about fouls.
"We won but we acted like we were down 2-0 or 3-0."
Hil Tanner scored the game's only goal in the third minute. It was Tanner's 10th goal of the season.
"Hil, his mind sometimes wanders," said Taylor. "He wants the team to follow him and he's trying to be that team leader. He does a good job in certain aspects, but he tries to do a little bit too much for himself. I thought he did a good job controlling the midfield, but we did not win 50-50 balls."
The Chargers held a 3-1 advantage in shots on goal in the first half as both teams failed to generate pressure on the opposing defense.
Wayne Country Day failed to take advantage of five shots on goal in the second half. The Chargers were given three yellow cards in the final 40 minutes.
"I told the guys I give them credit for winning," said Taylor. "Our defense did a good job. In spite of the chaos and nonsense we had today, we found a way to win. Good teams are going to find ways to win ugly ballgames. That was an ugly win and we're going to get after it at practice tomorrow."
The Patriots had a shot just miss the goal in the 73rd minute. Matt Earley's shot in the 77th minute sailed wide.
Wayne Country Day finished with an 8-4 edge in shots on goal.
The Chargers (9-5-0 overall, 3-1-0 CPIC) visit Trinity of Durham on Thursday.