Published: September 05, 2008 10:29 am      

South ties with PCC, 4-4

Cardinals come back to tie Perry Co. Central

Two minutes into Wednesday night’s game with Perry County Central, the South Laurel Cardinals already found themselves on the short end of a 2-0 score line.

But these Cards refused to fold, and battled back to salvage a 4-4 tie with the visiting Commodores.

“This team doesn’t give up,” Coach Harmon Hodge said. “They have a lot of character, and I’m proud of the way we battled back.”

Thirty four seconds into the game, Miguel Valencia beat keeper Tyler Huff for a 1-0 lead. South barely had time to recover before J.R. Lunsford found the back of the net just over a minute later for a quick 2-0 advantage.

The Cardinals got one of those goals back in the sixth minute as John McClure found Jeffrey Poston, who beat the Commodore keeper to cut the lead in half at 2-1. But three minutes later, Perry Central’s Valencia struck again to make it 3-1.

“We were letting them make runs, and not tracking back,” Hodge said. “We’ve got to work on that.”

A dangerous play was called on Perry Central in the 25th minute, resulting in an indirect free kick for the Cardinals about eight yards out. McClure touched the ball to Poston, who blasted a shot through the wall and into the goal, bringing his team back to within one, 3-2.

Five minutes later, Perry Central regained their two-goal lead when Anthony Beshears scored, and the half ended with the Commodores leading, 4-2.

The Cardinals picked things up in the second half, as their defense shut down the Commodores, and those runs down the wings they were finding in the first half suddenly disappeared.

In the 61st minute, Dustin Herron race down the left side, then sent a cross in front of the goal, where McClure, seeing that Poston was open behind him, allowed the ball to roll through his legs to Poston, who scored to cut the lead to 4-3.

Then, in the 73rd minute, the comeback was completed, as Jesse Reed sent a long free kick to the back post, where freshman Dustin Lawson blasted the ball past the keeper to tie the game at 4-4. “Dustin has been a big blessing this season,” Hodge said.

The Cards had a golden opportunity to steal the win in the 78th minute when Caleb Spencer found Dylan Berry, who sent a cross to McClure who was camped out in front of the goal, unmarked. But McClure’s shot was right at the keeper, who made the save.

The Cardinals have two big games next week, hosting Corbin on Tuesday, then traveling to face North Laurel on Thursday.