Showing posts tagged “Andriy Budnyy”
David Fellerath ·
25 Feb 2010, 12:30 PM ·
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The man from Malta (Photo by Stew Jones)
Fans of Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon know that, in the end, the prized statuette turns out to be a forgery. After a couple of weeks of hints that a major Maltese international striker was on the way (how many MMISs can there be?), the RailHawks finally have produced a parcel containing said prize.
Meet Etienne Barbara, a 6-foot-1, 27-year-old striker from Pietà, Malta. There are high hopes for him indeed: Martin Rennie, having been tipped to Barbara’s availability, traveled to the Mediterranean island specifically to scout him. In a team press release, Rennie says:
‘I saw his videos and I was real impressed, and I spoke to some people who also told me, This guy is really, really good. I made the decision to go watch him play, and I was blown away by what he did. I’m hoping that will translate to our league, and I believe it will. He’s got pace, power and he can finish and he’s just an all-around player. He’ll add a lot to our squad.’
Barbara will bring a solid record of accomplishment to Cary, with 70 goals since 1999, a period he mostly spent in the Maltese Premier League. Barbara has 30 caps with Malta’s national team, although he is not currently listed on the roster. He also had a short stint with the German fourth-tier semipro side SC Verl, a tenure that apparently ended with his dismissal for disciplinary reasons (the source cited on Barbara’s Wiki page is a German news site, where it appears that further browsing in Deutsch is necessary).
Following the Internet trail of Barbara’s career is fascinating. We realize just how ubiquitous soccer is elsewhere on the planet—where a country as tiny as Malta can have a multi-tiered league system, and, correspondingly, where there can be excellent prospects toiling away that require diligence, pavement-pounding and international connections to locate.
It appears, too, that last summer Barbara merited a close look by English Championship side Sheffield Wednesday when that club was in preseason training in Malta. According to this report, then-coach Brian Laws (now the coach of Burnley) ultimately determined that Barbara, though “definitely a talented player who has trained very hard with us this week,” wasn’t quite good enough to aid in Sheffield Wednesday’s push for the upper echelon of the Championship. (Wednesday is currently in 21st place, one point above the relegation zone.)
This isn’t to suggest that Barbara won’t be a key ingredient for the RailHawks—it’s unlikely that Rennie would have gone to such lengths merely to add a little squad depth—but that this information gives us an idea of where the RailHawks and American D2 soccer fit into the global soccer matrix (somewhere around England’s League One, perhaps).
It’s an encouraging signing for the RailHawks, who needed another striker option. Last year’s team scored 43 goals, third-best in the league, but 21 percent of those goals came in a single game. Returning forwards Sallieu Bundu and Andriy Budnyy had their moments last season, and Matthew Delicâte, on a late-season loan from USL-2 Richmond, provided spark and creativity, but RailHawk attack has lacked a consistently ruthless presence inside the box. Clearly, Rennie hopes Barbara can bring that finishing touch.
Barbara is currently playing for the Maltese side Hibernians, where he will remain until late March.
Press release below.
Continue reading »
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Andriy Budnyy, Brian Laws, Dashiell Hammett, Etienne Barbara, Hibernians, Malta, Martin Rennie, Sallieu Bundu, Sheffield Wednesday
David Fellerath ·
6 Oct 2009, 12:22 PM ·
2 Comments
WECT in Wilmington, N.C. is reporting that the Wilmington Hammerheads, regular season champions of the USL-2 in 2009, are out of the league. It appears to be unrelated to the turmoil in the first division, having more to do with the finances of team owner Chuck Sullivan, who took over the club prior to the 2008 season. The report notes that the franchise reportedly encountered difficulties paying players on time, but that those obligations have now been met.
We’re knee-deep in other work today, but we’ll be keeping an eye on this.
WECT Sports has learned that the United Soccer League has opted to remove the Wilmington Hammerheads from its list of franchises. Senior Director of Franchise Development Matt Weibe confirmed the move on Tuesday.
“We have discontinued our relationship with Chuck Sullivan,” Weibe said. “The USL is a franchised based league, where certiain requirements must be met and in this case they were not met.” When asked what those requirements were, Mr. Weibe said WECT would have to contact Mr. Sullivan.
The Wilmington Hammerheads played the USL-1 RailHawks three times in 2009—two friendlies and an epic clash in the 2nd round of the US Open Cup, won by the Hammerheads in PKs. RailHawks players Aaron King, Andriy Budnyy and Caleb Patterson-Sewell all did loan stints there last season.
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Aaron King, Add new tag, Andriy Budnyy, Caleb Patterson Sewell, Chuck Sullivan, USL-2, Wilmington Hammerheads
David Fellerath ·
28 Sep 2009, 8:10 AM ·
2 Comments
RailHawks midfielder Joseph Kabwe plays the ball as Ansu Toure defends. (photo by Rich Bostwick)
WAKEMED SOCCER PARK/ CARY—Bummer. It was a lovely evening for soccer, sunny and mild in early fall. Just as it’s a little early for the leaves to change color and drop from the trees, it was a little early for the RailHawks’ remarkable season to end.
But end it did, as an exhausted and increasingly desperate squad failed to put the ball in the net against the seventh-seeded Vancouver Whitecaps, finishing with a nil-nil draw. The RailHawks needed a 1-0 victory just to get to penalty kicks, but the Cary XI closed their season by failing to score in 180 minutes and two home-and-home legs against a bigger and more experienced, playoff-hardened Vancouver side.
By the end, the RailHawks were in a 4-4-2 and throwing everyone forward. “We had chances in the first half and didn’t take them,” coach Martin Rennie said. “It made it a little more difficult. We started to go more direct.
“When you go more direct, you need the ball to bounce your way and it didn’t—which usually isn’t the way we play,” Rennie said. “We’re usually much more thought-through, much more precise. But once we weren’t getting the goal, I think maybe we began to panic a little bit, which made it more difficult to break them down.”
“You’ve got to credit Vancouver,” center back and captain Mark Schulte said. “They knew what they had to do: They had to shut us down—they sat in [on us].”
In truth, the RailHawks showed little of the squad that scored 43 goals in USL-1 league play. They launched 12 shots, but Whitecaps keeper Jay Nolly only needed to make four saves.
It was one save in particular that would prove to put the kibosh on the season. Continue reading »
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Amir Lowery, Andriy Budnyy, Brad Rusin, Brian Plotkin, Caleb Norkus, Daniel Paladini, Greg Shields, Gregory Richardson, Jay Nolly, Jeremy Tolleson, John Cunliffe, Joseph Kabwe, Josh Gardner, Lyle Martin, Mark Schulte, Martin Rennie, Matt Watson, Matthew Delicate, playoffs
David Fellerath ·
19 Sep 2009, 11:40 AM ·
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Matt Watson during practice earlier this season. Watson broke his fibula in the early minutes of last night's game. (Photo by D.L. Anderson)
WAKEMED SOCCER PARK/ CARY—We began the evening with an early dinner at the home of friends in the countryside outside Chapel Hill. We lingered a little long and then arrived at Wake Med just in time to witness the unsettling image of RailHawks midfielder Matt Watson writhing in pain on the visitor sideline, attended by four or five trainers and staff.
Watson looked utterly stricken—he had the collar of his shirt in his teeth—but he may have been reacting also to the dread of a second debilitating injury to his wheels this season. While John Cunliffe took his place in the 17th minute, the stretcher was sent away and Watson went off the field on crutches and, apparently, to an ambulance. Word came later that his fibula was broken and his season, which was also disrupted by a knee injury, is apparently over.
It was an unfortunately sour note to an otherwise workmanlike, convincing 2-0 victory over the Montreal Impact. [Stat box here.] This result, combined with a near-simultaneous draw by the Charleston Battery, means that the RailHawks finish in second place and have the home advantage through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Their first-round opponent will be the Vancouver Whitecaps, and the first of two legs will be played Thursday, Sept. 24 at Swangard Stadium in Vancouver.
Andriy Budnyy started again at striker in Martin Rennie’s 4-5-1 formation, and it was evident that the game plan was to play long balls over the top to him. Delivery after air-mail delivery soared his way. In the 36th, for example, Mark Schulte launched a ball from a position in the back, which Budnyy met with his head at the far post.
That ball went straight to Montreal keeper Matt Jordan, but the crowd was roused—including Cary soccer parents sitting near us who valiantly kept redirecting their kids’ attention to the game for teachable moments. And there were teachable moments: In the 27th, for example, the parent-coaches thrilled to the one-two-one-two combo between Daniel Paladini and Greg Shields down the right flank, although it only resulted in a cross just out of Budnyy’s reach.
On the evidence of the night, the RailHawks are fully in the second stage of their Gregory Richardson tactical evolution. The word is out around the league that the ball should be kept away from the dazzling Guyanese left winger, so we saw the RailHawks effectively exploit the rest of the pitch—especially in the middle where the hard-working Budnyy trolled for a ball he could put in the back of the net. The Ukrainian was caught offside several times, mistimed a few runs and had two goals disallowed. For the game, the RailHawks were caught offsides six times, to none for the Impact.
But it only takes one converted opportunity, and that moment came in the 57th minute when Budnyy took yet another long ball, from John Gilkerson, and was hacked in the area by defender Stefano Pesoli. Up came the red card and off went Pesoli.
After some disagreement between Paladini and Richardson about which up-and-comer would do the honors, Paladini ended up over the spot. Jordan went to his left, Paladini went to his left and the RailHawks had the only goal they needed. 1-0. Continue reading »
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Andriy Budnyy, Brian Plotkin, Daniel Paladini, Greg Shields, Gregory Richardson, Mark Schulte, Martin Rennie, Matt Watson, Matthew Delicate, Montreal Impact, playoffs
David Fellerath ·
13 Sep 2009, 3:05 PM ·
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The story of the first half: Gregory Richardson leaves Christian Arrieta behind. Photo by Jeremy M. Lange
WAKEMED SOCCER PARK—It was the most exciting league game of the year. Fast, furious and creative, the RailHawks brought their A-game against the rugged, battle-hardened and extremely adept Puerto Rico Islanders. It was also a road-weary Islanders lineup that put most of its regulars out on the field despite a looming, critical CONCACAF Champions League match against Mexican powerhouse Cruz Azul. The 2-1 result put the RailHawks back in second place ahead of the Islanders, which they can clinch with a win against Montreal Friday (although Charleston can tie them with two final victories).
The first 12 minutes were enough to win the game, as the RailHawks’ left winger Gregory Richardson waltzed at will past the Islanders’ star right back Christian Arrieta in the first half. In the second minute, Richardson broke into the box and took a ball from Joseph Kabwe, and put it past PR keeper Justin Myers at the far post. It was Richardson’s fifth goal of the season.
It was the fastest goal of the season for the RailHawks—and many fans were still arriving through the main gate. There was plenty of first-rate football left for them, however. In the 11th, Richardson left Arrieta flailing in a spectacular jinking operation, but the Islanders’ Sean Fraser came in to help. The ball came back upfield and Richardson uncorked from distance. It was on-frame, but the ball deflected off Andriy Budnyy on its high-speed way and the Ukrainian got his fourth goal of the season.
In the first half, the RailHawks put on their most fluid, creative and dazzling display of the season—an even more impressive performance than the 9-0 result against the hapless Miami, because Colin Clarke’s Islanders are no Miami. Continue reading »
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Andriy Budnyy, Christian Arrieta, Colin Clarke, Gregory Richardson, Joseph Kabwe, Martin Rennie, Nicholas Addlery, Pablo Martin Nuñez, Puerto Rico Islanders
David Fellerath ·
27 Aug 2009, 9:01 AM ·
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Edwin Miranda leaves the field under the glare of the Cary law. photo by David Fellerath
WAKEMED SOCCER PARK/ CARY—The 1,597 fans who showed up on the relatively mild evening saw an extraordinary sight: a soccer game with the preposterous score of 9-0.
That’s right. 9-0. The RailHawks’ match against playoff contender Miami FC Blues wasn’t a baseball game, but a soccer game.
But the lopsided result has us reaching for non-soccer comparisons: Perhaps the time the Chicago Bears won the NFL Championship (in pre-Super Bowl days) with a 73-0 win. Or perhaps if one were to go fishing and have fish hit your lure on every single cast.
But if we stick to soccer analogies, the RailHawks’ absolute dominance was reminiscent of some of Barcelona’s games last season, particularly the first half of their return leg against Real Madrid last May. Like Barça, so dominant were the RailHawks that the goal seemed to be a magnetic field for the ball, and on a couple of occasions the RailHawks nearly walked the ball into the back of the net.
Joseph Kabwe led all scorers (there’s a basketball construction) with three goals, while Sallieu Bundu chipped in a late brace. Also scoring: Daniel Paladini, John Cunliffe, Andriy Budnyy and Gregory Richardson. Continue reading »
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Andriy Budnyy, Daniel Paladini, Edgar Miranda, Eric Reed, Gregory Richardson, Jack Stewart, John Cunliffe, Joseph Kabwe, Martin Rennie, Miami FC, Sallieu Bundu
David Fellerath ·
22 Aug 2009, 2:58 PM ·
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John Cunliffe, skimming on the Whitecaps (photo by Rich Bostwick)
The RailHawks and the Vancouver Whitecaps traveled an aggregate total of 10,000 miles in four days to emerge with two points apiece. Following Saturday’s 0-0 stalemate in Vancouver’s Swangard Stadium, the two squads battled fatigue and humidity Tuesday night in Cary for a 1-1 draw. After falling behind on a 66th-minute Vancouver goal, late sub Andriy Budnyy settled a ball from John Cunliffe and scored to salvage the draw in the 87th minute.
Here are video highlights, and here’s the stat box.
The thing of it is, it was a decent result for both sides. Vancouver got two points from a tough opponent to keep them in the playoff hunt. And, despite the results, the RailHawks are still in a strong second-place position—which some might consider a better prize than first place, with the first-round playoff bye that comes with it.
Right now, Portland is in the driver’s seat for regular season title, with 48 points to Carolina’s 44, with both teams having seven games to play. Here’s how the playoff contenders stack up, ranked by points-per-game. The top seven make the playoffs.
- Portland: 2.09 ppg
- Carolina: 1.91
Continue reading »
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Andriy Budnyy, Caleb Patterson Sewell, Jeremy Tolleson, John Cunliffe, Martin Rennie, Portland Timbers, Rochester Rhinos, Vancouver Whitecaps
David Fellerath ·
13 Aug 2009, 8:40 PM ·
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RailHawks keeper Eric Reed surely didn’t intend for his endorsement of rock-solid—and taciturn—defender Jeremy Tolleson in team blogger Tim Candon’s profile, posted today, to sound backhanded:
“He’s so dependable,” said goalkeeper Eric Reed, who played with Tolleson last year in Cleveland, too. “A lot of teams, because he’s not a physical presence back there like [Mark] Schulte or Brad [Rusin], you don’t think a lot of him. Teams will put forwards directly on him, and Jeremy will handle them no problem. You can count on him 99.999 percent of the time. Very rarely will he ever do something that will hurt you.”
Obviously, if defenders were perfect, they wouldn’t concede any goals. In fact, the RailHawks have given up 13, the second-fewest in the USL-1. For his part, Tolleson has been an unsung hero, fortuitously stepping in after missing the first few weeks of the season due to injury. He made his season debut in the same game that saw the towering Jack Stewart go down with a broken fibula. Tolleson, who played with coach Martin Rennie in Cleveland the last two seasons and with the PDL Cascade Surge before that, was expected to see time at left back, but the Stewart injury moved him to the middle. Candon’s appreciation is here.
Elsewhere in RailHawksiana today, the N&O’s Rachel Ullrich has a nice piece about the RailHawks’ foreign players that performs the useful service of nailing down which players are officially foreign, under USL rules, and which are not. (In the latter category: Sallieu Bundu, Andriy Budnyy, Gavin Glinton, Caleb Patterson-Sewell.) This story, by the way, ran above the fold on the front sports page. Kudos to the N&O for giving Ullrich space this summer. She’ll be missed when her internship ends.
The RailHawks are back in third place after victories by the Charleston Battery and the Portland Timbers. They have three games in hand on Charleston and one on Portland. They travel to Vancouver for a game against the Whitecaps Saturday, Aug. 15, at 10 p.m. EDT. Watch it on USLLive.com.
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Andriy Budnyy, Caleb Patterson Sewell, Eric Reed, Gavin Glinton, Jeremy Tolleson, Martin Rennie, Sallieu Bundu, Vancouver Whitecaps
Chris Gaffney ·
2 Aug 2009, 11:08 PM ·
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WAKEMED SOCCER PARK/CARY—One can always gauge the attendance figures by looking at the “kids tunnel” that forms to welcome the referees and players onto the field. 
Last night there were 40 kids and an official attendance of 2,138. On the bright side there were two pantomime cows, Swoops, and several dozen dogs, as it was “Bark in the Park Night,” a howler of an idea. I am looking forward to explaining this to my students in Brazil. The hilarious bit was that the cows put their hands over their hearts for the national anthem, though I’m not sure they got the anatomy right.
The Austin Aztex are in their first year of USL-1 competition and are having a rough go of it. This young team has lost a number of close games, given up leads late in games, been docked points for ineligible players and been hit by a spate of injuries that have kept them floating at the bottom of the table. The RailHawks, coming off a 4-0 thrashing of Miami and a week of rest, took full advantage of the Texan debutantes. Continue reading »
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Andriy Budnyy, Austin Aztex, Gregory Richardson, Joseph Kabwe, Luke Kreamalmeyer, Mark Schulte, Sallieu Bundu
David Fellerath ·
22 Jul 2009, 1:29 PM ·
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Some personnel news out of Cary this morning, courtesy of RailHawks journalist Tim Candon:
Striker Andriy Budnyy and goalkeeper Caleb Patterson have been sent to Wilmington for an overnight loan. The USL-2 Hammerheads are trying to protect their spot in first place from the visiting Richmond Kickers. The Hammerheads, who performed heroically in June and early July, making it to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup after beating the RailHawks in the second round, are now groaning with injuries. Budnyy and Patterson will help plug gaps left by an ankle injury to striker Jamie Watson and a possibly season-ending hernia surgery for goalkeeper Daryl Sattler (who, fans may remember, knocked aside penalty shots by Daniel Paladini and Mark Schulte in that June 16 thriller).
One likely result of the loan is that Eric Reed will start in goal this Friday against Charleston instead of Patterson, whose turn it would be otherwise.
Another thought: The Richmond Kickers may have a little ringer up their sleeves, too. Former UNC and MLS star Chris Carrieri appeared for the Kickers against the RailHawks on June 2. He told me then that he’s playing for Richmond on a part-time basis, against their North Carolina opponents. (He lives in Holly Springs.) Perhaps Carrieri, Patterson and Budnyy can all ride down to Wilmington together.
- Greg Shields, the veteran Scottish defender, is safely in Cary and training with the team. He arrived Saturday and caught the end of the Tecos match. Somewhat disconcertingly, he said his family was surprised by the ruckus created by the Tecos supporters:
“We were sitting by the opposing fans. For the kids, it was a wee bit daunting for them, banging the seats all the time. It was a bit different from what we’re used to.”
- Candon also reports that Devon McKenney’s just about fully rehabilitated from a hamstring injury suffered a month ago.
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Andriy Budnyy, Caleb Patterson, Daryl Sattler, Devon McKenney, Eric Reed, Greg Shields, Jamie Watson, Wilmington Hammerheads
