Lewiston’s Abdilahi Abdi and Maranacook’s Richard Down pursue the ball during Tuesday evening’s soccer game in Lewiston. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)
LEWISTON — Lewiston needed patience to get a hard-to-come-by goal against Maranacook on Tuesday, according to coach Mike McGraw.
The Blue Devils sure were patient in scoring their lone goal, which came with 2:05 remaining to lift Lewiston to a 1-0 victory in a KVAC boys’ soccer clash at Don Roux Field.
Mardoche Kikobo’s cross from the right side eluded diving Black Bears goalie Ryan Worster, and Suab Nur was there in the box to send a sideways bicycle kick into the back of the net.
“I knew that I was going to score that goal,” Nur said. “I was kind of nervous, but I scored.”
Nur said he had a feeling that Kikobo’s cross would get by Worster because a day full of rain had made the turf field wet and the ball slippery. But a summer full of practice gave Nur confidence that he could score in the manner he did, which is what the Blue Devils (10-0-1) needed in a game that saw few scoring chances.
“There weren’t many,” Maranacook coach Don Beckwith said. “I mean, what, there was probably four or five the whole night, at the most. Either side. I mean, we didn’t have many.”
The Black Bears (9-2) were held to just one shot on goal in the game, and that came from Trevor Rioux with 11:20 left in the second half, but Dido Lumu made the save. Maranacook had better looks in the first half, but four direct kicks from inside 35 yards yielded nothing.
“I thought we had a couple opportunities to do more with it, but, you know …” Beckwith said. “Especially (Mitchell) Root had one opportunity, the way the goalie never come off his line. He was probably six yards out. That was probably our best opportunity, really was.”
McGraw lamented his team giving the Black Bears those chances.
“We gave them unbelievable opportunities to score,” McGraw said. “So we reduced — I think we only had two (fouls) in the second half, and probably about eight or 10 in the first half. And that was a key, that was a big key.”
Lewiston put four shots on goal in the first half, including two from Bilal Hersi. Cooper Millett also had a shot stopped point-blank at the top of the box by Worster (five saves).
The Blue Devils squandered a corner kick early, then couldn’t do anything with back-to-back corners with six minutes left in the game. Nur’s cross on goal with four minutes left was Lewiston’s first on-target shot of the second half.
“This is like a playoff-type atmosphere on the field, even though we didn’t have a lot of fans because of the rain. But it’s what playoffs are going to be like, and it doesn’t get any easier,” McGraw said. “We have to learn. The easy games are done.”
wkramlich@sunjournal.com
Lewiston’s Joel Musese and Maranacook’s Wyatt Lambert chase after the ball during Tuesday night’s soccer game in Lewiston. Lewiston’s Ahmed Abadir enters the play from the right. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)Lewiston’s Mardoche Kikobo drives down the field with Maranacook’s Richard Down during Tuesday’s night soccer game in Lewiston. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)Lewiston’s Mardoche Kikobo leaps up to smash the ball during Tuesday’s night soccer game in Lewiston. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)Lewiston’s Cooper Millett heads the ball as Maranacook’s Aric Belanger pressing from the right during Tuesday’s night soccer game in Lewiston. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)Lewiston’s Jama Abdullahi and Maranacook’s Duncan Rogers run the ball down the field during Tuesday’s night soccer game in Lewiston. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)
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