THUNDER BAY – Things went from bad to worse to ugly very quickly for the Thunder Bay Chill in their home opener.
Issued two red cards in the opening 11 minutes, the Chill found themselves in a hole they could not dig their way out of, falling 2-0 to the Des Moines Menace in Premier Development League play at Tbaytel Field at Fort William Stadium on Friday night.
Emotions boiled over not only on the pitch with frustrated Chill players but also with the fans, leading to one taking a swing at head official Kevin Read during the halftime recess.
Though he was reluctant to comment on the officiating, Chill head coach Giovanni Petraglia said he had never seen a team lose two players so early in a meaningful contest, which many league observers had predicted as one of the most anticipated matchups on the schedule.
“A red card is not easy to deal with in any part of the game. When it comes to the first minutes it’s a totally different story,” Petraglia said.
“We regrouped and I believe the second call was too early, it (provoked) our player and then he came back and got a yellow. I believe it was not just a call that was a bad call, it was the managing of the moment on the ref that wasn’t good enough for this level.”
From the opening whistle, the Chill didn’t even spend 180 seconds on the pitch with their full lineup.
Veteran midfielder Anthony Putrus contested a high ball played by a Menace opponent, colliding in midair. Read wasted little time racing over, displaying the red card much to the displeasure of the Chill.
Less than 10 minutes passed before Putrus was joined on the sidelines by fellow midfielder Pedro Adan, who was shown a red after picking up a pair of bookings in a span of less than one minute for hard challenges.
Stalwart defender Zetroy Robertson said once the calls started going against the team their nerves got the better of them, admitting they should have managed the game better.
“We came pumped. We came prepared. They say we should play and not worry about the referee’s decisions but some of the decisions I believe were bad calls, not just the send offs but the calls during the game,” Robertson said.
“It was hard for us to keep our composure.”
Despite playing shorthanded, the Chill controlled possession and had more quality scoring opportunities during the first 45 minutes.
On two different occasions dynamic striker Sullivan Silva was able to create space and get a clean attempt away, missing narrowly wide on both shots.
The home side appeared poised to hang on and reach the locker room at halftime still deadlocked but that changed very quickly in the added minutes of injury time.
A scramble for a loose ball in the Chill penalty area ended with a foul call, setting up a penalty kick that Des Moines striker Leigh Veidman buried past Chill keeper Daniel Milton.
“Who knows, maybe if we go 0-0 at halftime we have time to regroup and I don’t know the final score,” Petraglia said. “That was another call, questionable, that I would love to see on the video. It just happened on the wrong moment. One minute more and then we head into the change room 0-0.”
As the two teams and officiating crew were making their way off the pitch at the half, a group of fans gathered at the field exit waiting to confront Read. They shouted at the referee, with one attempting to throw a punch before Chill staff escorted the crew to their locker room.
The physical toll of playing two men down seemed to have an impact on the Chill in the second half as the Menace were in firm control of possession and stretched out the thin Thunder Bay side.
Insurance was added in the 66th minute with second half substitute Thomas Barlow finishing a rebound opportunity after Milton made an initial save on a headed cross.
Despite the loss, Chill players were encouraged with how they confronted a significant disadvantage.
“We just can’t wait until (Saturday) when we’ll have all 11 players. It should be a different game (Saturday),” Robertson said.
Notes: The Menace (3-0-1) remain undefeated while the Chill (2-1-0) pick up their first loss of the campaign...Putrus and Adan will both be sidelined for Saturday's contest as a result of the red cards...The Chill had five cards issued against four players. Christopher Jones and James Pendrigh also picked up yellow cards. No Des Moines players were booked...The two teams will meet again on Saturday at Tbaytel Field at Fort William Stadium with the match scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.
