As for the goal in this game, it was a complete mental collapse by the defense, a unit that played so well all game up to that moment in the 85th minute.

The goal starts with a bad Delbridge clearance that sends the ball 20 yards down the field in the wrong direction, going out for a corner. It would have been just as easy to send the ball out on the touchline, but instead the ball, lazily, scoots down to go out for a Bethlehem corner.

Bethlehem takes the corner short, passing it up the field where it is then crossed into the box. The FCC defender on the ball doesn’t close down in time to prevent the cross, or even contest it. When the cross comes in there is one player in front of the back post completely unmarked. Amazingly however, this is not the player that ends up scoring. The cross comes in shorter, but had it gone long it would have been an extremely easy goal for Bethlehem.

Unfortunately due to the quality of the Stream on YouTube, I cannot make out the numbers, but two FCC defenders are tussling with Bethlehem players in front of goal, only to have them both beat the defender to the ball. For all that tussling, neither defender is able to get in front of their man. There are also two additional FCC defenders who stuck in no-man’s land, just in front of the tussling Bethlehem players in the box. One defender makes a half-hearted attempt to jump to the ball, realizing they are way out of position, and it goes about two feet over their head.

Mitch does himself no favors by not making a decision. He is caught off his line, but doesn’t challenge for the ball. In the end, he is out of position and the ball goes right past him. This is not to put all the blame on Mitch, I think this ball is going in if he stays on his line and I don’t think he would have gotten to the ball if he committed to the challenge. But I trust Mitch’s ability enough to have risked him staying on the line and having a chance at stopping the ball.