Burlingame boys' soccer team prove too much for South City

Adding to the newness of the season was the fact that Burlingame head coach Anthony Dimech did not have his full roster until this past Monday, as the club soccer season concluded this past weekend.

While the Panthers still have to learn each other’s tendencies, they had more than enough to come away with a 4-1 win over an always scrappy and physical Warriors’ squad.

“Good to get started,” Dimech said, as he enters his fifth season guiding the Panthers and was the former South City coach, stepping down in 2010.

“We’ve had four or five weeks of training. Had a couple of scrimmages,” Dimech continued. “I want to get these guys going right away and play good competition.”

Not surprisingly, it was the finishing by the Panthers that needs the most work. Despite scoring four times, including taking a 3-1 lead at halftime, Burlingame misfired on a number of other chances.

The Panthers were especially dangerous in the second half, getting off 12 shots attempts, seven of which were on frame. South City goalkeeper Angel Moreno kept his team in the game by making a number of key saves, finishing with eight stops for the game.

Sean O’Grady came off the bench 10 minutes into the game and gave the Panthers a sturdy option up top to fend off South City’s aggressive defenders — Eric Barajas and Jessie Hernandez.

O’Grady held off a defender to pick up a first-half assist and, in the second half, made a number of dangerous runs at goal — getting thwarted by Moreno on a 1-v-1 situation.

“I was trying to get my forwards to make diagonal runs,” Dimech said. “We’ll keep working on it.”

Burlingame certainly had a lot of opportunities to work on Wednesday as the Panthers kept the Warriors locked into their end for most of the match.

“[Burlingame] came out with a bang as we never matched that energy,” said South City head coach Ivan Martinez. “As a unit, we didn’t the proper adjustments.”

The Burlingame midfield was a key reason the Warriors struggled to get anything going offensively. Ian Jackson, a defensive midfielder, along with Altai Ordubadi and Tyler Ho did a fantastic job of stopping any significant advancement by the South City offense, often stepping in front of passes and winning 50-50 to send the Panthers back on the attack.

Jackson stepped up into the attack more than once and, if not for an ill-timed whistle by the head referee, would have gotten into the scoring column. Jackson avoided a burly challenge from Barajas and the referee initially played the advantage before blowing his whistle just as Jackson was unleashing his shot that found the back of the net.

“We did a good job in the middle of the field,” Dimech said. “Controlling the flow, working the ball around.”

Martinez said his team struggled with Burlingame’s pressure defense and the Warriors simply could not link passes together to get out of trouble and get on the attack.

“We couldn’t figure that out because of their pressing,” Martinez said.

It was evident early on it was going to be just a matter of time before Burlingame scored. After a number of probing runs to start the game, the Panthers opened the scoring in the 17th minute. Ho, with his back to the goal, received a pass and with a deft little touch, split the defense with a through ball. Calvin Wagner came running on, avoiding a challenge, latching onto the ball and slotted a shot in the left corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.

Two goals, four minutes apart later in the first half, gave Burlingame control of the match. The Panthers’ second strike came in the 22nd minute on a free kick near midfield. A cross was sent into the penalty box, where South City’s Moreno came off his line to punch the ball clear.

He collided with a Burlingame player and the ball bounced out to Calvin Potter, who lofted an arcing shot over the melee in the box and into the left corner for a 2-0 Burlingame advantage.

Four minutes later, it was 3-0 Burlingame. O’Grady used his size and speed to chase down a ball, while holding off a defender. He carried the ball to the end line and, with the entire South City defense flowing to him, he sent a cross to the far right post to find an unmarked Ordubadi, who tapped in a one-time for the goal.

South City, however, never gave up as the Warriors got on the scoreboard just before halftime. Earning a free kick along the left sideline, Fidel Jimenez sent a cross into the Burlingame penalty box where Panthers’ goalkeeper, Francesco Maldonado, came off his line to punch the ball clear, only to have the ball pinball over to Hernandez, who hammered home a goal from 10 yards.

Burlingame rounded out the scoring in the 70th minute on a goal from Lleyton Yang from distance.

“We know Burlingame is a great program,” Martinez said. “We can’t expect to have it all figured out after two games.”