Braves blank Jay Co. (09/13/07)

Alan Bailey was hoping for a turn-around from what he deemed a disappointing effort Saturday against South Adams. It wasn't there.

The visiting Bellmont Braves consistently beat Bailey's Jay County High School boys soccer team to the ball Wednesday night in a 2-0 victory over the Patriots.

"We're not hustling right now for some reason," said Bailey, whose team has dropped back-to-back games - it lost 3-1 to South Adams Saturday - after a streak of four straight wins sandwiched between a pair of ties. "We're playing really flat. I pretty much left it up to the kids today to decide what they wanted to do ... We've got to find ourselves here real fast.

"They beat us to everything. Every ball there was, they won every one of them. We've just got to dig down deep and find out who we are and get back to that level we started at."

Jay County (4-3-2) had its scoring opportunities limited Wednesday night as its occasional chances at breakaways were thwarted by the Braves' quick-recovering defense. And one of its best chances was left without the home team even taking a shot.

Trailing 1-0 midway through the second half, the Patriots were set up with a free kick on the right sideline. Defender Trey Dunn lofted the ball past the far post, where Brad Horn hit a header that sent the ball skipping back across the front of the goal.

However there was not a Jay County player close, and the ball rolled harmlessly to the right side where it was booted away by Bellmont.

"We have no desire to score right now," said Bailey. "No one's got that killer instinct. ... They've got to have it in them somewhere. They've got to dig down deep and find out what they want to do with this team."

That clearing kick by the Braves (6-3-1) started a run in the other direction as Austin Alanis hurried down the right side of the field. He pushed the ball all the way to the baseline, waiting for the right moment before sending it toward the goal.

His boot ticked off the hand of JCHS goalie Kevin Dirksen, and Bellmont's Sam Meyer followed with a header back to the right corner for the 2-0 lead.

Meyer was also key to the first Braves goal as he attacked the Patriot defense on the right side. He then dished the ball off to Eddie Tamariz, whose ensuing shot deflected off of Dirksen and into the right corner at the 22:38 mark of the first half.

"He's a great player," said Bellmont coach Billy Foreman of Meyer, who nearly added a second assist in the closing minutes. "He's one of those guys that plays all year round, which is rare anywhere outside of Fort Wayne ... and it shows on the field.

"We played well. We like to incorporate that small stuff, small field stuff and then spread it out and play long. ... We just basically did what we practiced."

Bailey was left with the opposite feeling about his squad. While he said he's getting great effort from some players, including Dunn, who sprinted the length of the field on several occasions Tuesday, he said he's not seeing it from top to bottom.

"It just dies off," he said of the hustle after the top few players. "They can't play every position. You'd think your younger kids would try to feed off of that, but it's (not happening). I don't know. I'm lost right now trying to figure this team out."[[In-content Ad]]