Spokane and South Georgia play to scoreless draw

During the first half, Spokane Velocity FC outplayed visiting South Georgia Tormenta FC in every phase. But the Velocity couldn’t capitalize on their many scoring chances, and the teams went into the break tied.

During most of the second half, the Velocity played short-handed – one of their key defenders got tagged with a red card. But Tormenta couldn’t capitalize on their advantage in numbers, and the teams settled for a 0-0 draw on Saturday evening in a USL League One match at ONE Spokane Stadium.

“The start of the game shows where the group is at right now,” Spokane coach Leigh Veidman said. “They’re feeling confident. They’re feeling good about themselves. … Unfortunately, the guys didn’t reward themselves with a goal. They had good chances, but it didn’t come.

“Then what happened, happened in the second half. It became a grind to get through.”

Velocity (7-4-5) owned about 70% of possession time for the first 30 or so minutes. Spokane played the aggressor, hunting opportunities in the box while stifling South Georgia’s offense.

Spokane had six legitimate chances in the first half, five of which came before Tormenta (4-7-6) had recorded a shot – in the 37th minute.

Notable missed chances for Velocity – midfielder Azriel Gonzalez had a clean look inside the box but had the ball tackled away before he could shoot in the seventh minute; Gonzalez nearly netted a running attempt in the 10th from inside the penalty area; defender Ish Jome misfired on a short-range header in the 17th; forward Andre Lewis had a one-on-one opportunity saved in the 35th; defender Ahmed Longmire almost curled in a header in the 40th, but the attempt was just off target.

“I think we should’ve taken advantage of that momentum we had in the first half,” Veidman said. “We never, but that’s football.”

Momentum shifted in the second half after officials assessed a red card to Longmire in the 54th minute. Several players got involved in a scuffle during a stop in play. A group of about 10 pushed and shoved for a few moments before being separated. Longmire was the only player to be sent off – Tormenta’s Jake Dengler received a yellow card.

“It was really difficult to see,” Veidman said. “The fact we got a guy sent off and they got basically nothing doesn’t make much sense to me. But we’ll review the footage and anything that was missed will be sent to the league. The defensive display was absolutely tops under the circumstances.”

Spokane’s defense moved some pieces around and played cleanly for the final 40 minutes. Tormenta controlled possession in the second half and had a couple of decent opportunities but never really threatened.

“The guys were defending really hard (with) a lot of pressure on them,” Veidman said. “Playing a man down is hard.

“The guys adjusted really well. (Tormenta) threw everything at us.”

Spokane finished with eight shots (two on target) while Tormenta recorded 15 shots (four on target). The visitors had possession for 56% of the match but couldn’t break through against Velocity’s back line and goalkeeper Brooks Thompson, who logged four saves.

“(The back line) did a really good job of defending that box,” Thompson said. “All of (Tormenta’s) chances in the second half were shots outside of the box or contested headers. … It feels really good to get out of here with a clean sheet and a point.”

The Velocity earned seven points during their three-game home stand and sit in a tie for sixth in the league. A three-game road trip awaits for Spokane, which next plays Forward Madison FC at 3 p.m. Saturday in Madison, Wisconsin.