Trojans Go Second With Victory Over Jericho

A goal in either half from defender Tom Ferro helped Garden City to a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Jericho Wednesday.

Ferro gave the Trojans (4-1-1, 6-1-1 overall) the lead after 13 minutes and John Chtchekine doubled their advantage five minutes before half time after linking up well with Vinny Tavernese. Ferro looked to have killed the game off when he made it 3-0 shortly after the interval, but a pair of Hawks' goals made for a nervous end to the contest.

Coach Carlo Mazarese said: "We moved the ball well and we knew what they were trying to do and we countered well. We had a very good first half but unfortunately we got away from our game the last 20 minutes and we got a little sloppy.

"We became a little too defensive, but that will happen. We didn't plan it that way, but it's the normal reaction from the players. They went into survival mode, but we'll work on that and hopefully we'll get better."

The win moves Garden City level on 13 points with New Hyde Park in Conference 4, setting up a top-of-the-table clash between the two best teams in the league on Friday. The Gladiators (4-1-1, 6-1-1 overall) are first based on goal difference with a plus-minus advantage of three goals. The Gladiators beat the Trojans 4-3 in Garden City in their last league meeting Sept. 21.

With the exception of John Tarzian, the Trojans started the game slowly, and while Jericho had much of the early possession, neither goalkeeper was tested in the opening moments.

It was fitting, then, that Garden City's first real moment of attacking flare led to the opening goal.

Chtchekine cleverly spun away from his defender to chase down a pass down the left wing, winning the Trojans a corner and allowing the rest of the team to push further up the field.

Sean Bingham played the set piece short to Tavernese, but the striker's goal-bound shot was blocked from 10 yards out. The ball ricocheted back toward Bingham who lifted it into the box over Corey Miller, who could only get the faintest of touches to the cross. Ferro found himself in the right place at the right time to volley home with his left foot at the back post for his first goal of the season to stake the Trojans to a 1-0 lead.

Garden City looked comfortable with its lead and the team strung together short passes across the midfield to maintain possession nicely.

Tavernese almost made it 2-0 29 minutes into the game when his mis-hit cross from the left nearly caught Miller out of position, but they didn't have to wait too long for the second goal.

Chtchekine, who had worked hard putting pressure on the Jericho defense, was rewarded for his perseverance on the half hour mark after Tavernese made a great run down the left.

Tavernese picked the ball up in midfield and danced past two defenders before sliding a well-weighted pass into the path of the junior who stroked it past Miller with a smooth first-time finish.

The Trojans were well worth their 2-0 half time lead and goalkeeper Alex Pahlavi, who made three saves in the opening period, never looked like conceding. He commanded his back line well and distributed the ball efficiently, so it seemed like a certain Garden City victory when Ferro popped up to bag his second goal of the day 11 minutes after the restart.

Tavernese's deep corner kick to the back post found the unmarked Ferro who headed home uncontested to give the hosts a comfortable 3-0 lead.

"That's why we have him in the set plays," Coach Mazarese said of Ferro. "It took a while for him to get involved, but it's great to see his work paid off."

Instead of killing the game off, though, the Trojans started to drop deeper into their own half, inviting pressure from the Hawks (3-3-0, 3-4-1 overall) who began fighting to get a foothold into the match.

Jordan Lowenstein reduced the arrears to 3-1 in the 54th minute when Pahlavi was unable to keep out a low drive from the right of his six-yard box and the Hawks began to stir.

Miller kept Jericho in the game three minutes later when he parried Bingham's fierce drive and the visitors began to dump balls into the Garden City penalty area in earnest in search of another goal.

The defensive line of Michael D'Antonio, Cosmo Veneziale, Brandon Badgett and Ferro held firm, but the Trojans were repeatedly pinned in their own half as nerves and pressure began to build.

Ed Schwendemann did a fine job of keeping the midfield in order, but still the team seemed unable to clear their lines and maintain control of the ball in the Jericho half for any substantial period of time.

Wesley Mehr set up a frantic end to the game when he made it 3-2 with less than five minutes left to play, but the dogged Garden City unit was able to match the physical Hawks team and bunker down long enough to secure the victory.

Garden City next travels to New Hyde Park Friday. Kick-off is 4.30 p.m.

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