Hollister – If there’s one thing the San Benito boys soccer team can claim to be, it’s consistently inconsistent.
Two days after a flawless effort resulted in a 1-0 road victory over Palma, the Haybalers came out flat and were routed 4-1 at home Friday by rival Gilroy.
“They weren’t hungry for the win,” San Benito coach Juan Carlos Martinez said. “It’s getting me frustrated.”
The Mustangs, who have taken over first place in the Tri-County Athletic League with wins this week over Alisal, Alvarez and now San Benito, controlled the flow of the game from the very beginning.
Gilroy (10-2-4, 5-0-3 TCAL) scored its first goal in the sixth minute off a throw in when Edgar Hernandez headed the tally off an assist from Humberto Pineda.
Seven minutes later, the Mustangs offense moved the ball perfectly down the field and Bruce Ocana delivered an excellent cross that Hernandez fielded in the circle and fired into the net for a 2-0 lead.
“That’s the biggest thing we’ve been working on, trying to put teams away early in the game instead of letting teams stay in the game,” Gilroy coach Brian Hall said of the early goals. “For us to get an early goal and then keep the intensity up is big.”
The Mustangs didn’t let up and had plenty of other chances to score while outshooting the ‘Balers 13-2 in the first half and 20-4 for the game.
But none of those opportunities found the back of the net for the Mustangs and San Benito (3-9-2, 2-5-1) started the second half with some extra intensity.
Unfortunately for the ‘Balers, the team that struggles when it falls behind still failed to mount a big offensive threat.
“If we can’t score first, there’s not much chance for us,” Martinez said.
The game stayed at 2-0 until late in the second half, when sophomore Anthony Velazquez got a header on a Pineda pass for his first goal of the year.
Gilroy put the game away five minutes later when Pineda got his third assist of the game on a corner kick that Jose “Tapon” Velasquez headed in.
San Benito finally got on the board in the final minute, when Christian Mercado fired a cross pass and Efrain Espinoza booted it in, but it was much too little and much too late.
“I was expecting us to play like we did against Palma,” Martinez said. “None of my guys put pressure on them. They got all of the balls. It was obvious, (Gilroy) wanted to win.”
JV: San Benito defeat Gilroy 4-3.
