APOTHEOS FC DEFEATS BRISTOL RHYTHM AFC 4-1

In their final home match of the month, Bristol Rhythm AFC were unable to overcome Apotheos FC, conceding four goals and scoring one.  They now face a three-week away stretch on the back of their second loss of the season, going in with an overall record of one win and two defeats. 

The first clash of the season between Apotheos and the Rhythm was a “tale of two halves” as stated by head coach Lewis Sharp, the first of which consisted of a goal-scoring barrage by the away team.  Neither squad seemed to be able to find their footing in the first 10 minutes, but the momentum shifted in favor of Apotheos FC after they scored the opening goal in the 14th minute.  They were met with another goal roughly 15 minutes later and concluded the first half with back-to-back goals in stoppage time. 

Despite being down by four goals at the halfway point, Bristol picked up a few of the pieces from their broken first half, arranging some nice strings of possession.  This led to captain Adam Cooil’s first Rhythm goal and Bristol’s only goal of the match.  

“We made a few changes, and I think that helped us in the back,” Cooil said. “We were a lot more stable.  I think we are still missing a little bit, the quality and coming together of the midfield.”

Tactically, it seemed like both squads had similar intentions coming into the match, getting the ball out wide and creating chances by crossing into the box.  Apotheos FC scored most of their goals this way, but as previously mentioned, Bristol couldn’t ever quite find their footing. 

When asked what went wrong, Sharp stated, “Everything, I’ll be honest with you. Just one of those days where the boys couldn’t string two passes together.” 

As Cooil mentioned, Bristol’s defensive heroics earned them a second half clean sheet, led by goalkeeper Sam Mcgee who made a number of impressive saves. 

“The belief, quality and discipline wasn’t there [in the first half], but they came out in the second half like a completely different team,” Sharp added.

Following this week’s defeat, the Rhythm find themselves facing a three-week away stretch, where they will travel across North Carolina for their first two and conclude the away stretch with a rematch against Apotheos FC. 

“We are definitely going to be disappointed after this match,” Adam Cooil continued. “But the boys are a bunch of positive lads, and having a positive attitude will be helpful going into these next few games.” 

The effort from the home side was certainly a positive throughout the entirety of the match. 

“This is still a very new team, and we are still getting used to playing together,” Cooil concluded. 

The Rhythm will look to build on their positives and sort through their shortcomings in training as they will travel to Boone, North Carolina in a rematch against Appalachian FC on the first of June. 

By Parker W. Cox
Photo Credit: Austin Pantaleo