Hoek double sinks Victory
Sean Hoek netted all the goals in Quincy Saturday evening, as the visiting GPS Portland Phoenix sunk the Boston Victory by a score of 2-0.
Hoek's first strike arrived six minutes before half time as he negotiated his way through a forest of defenders to meet and convert Blaike Woodruff's right wing cross.
Victory goalkeeper Vinny Papageorgiou was left with no chance for the opener and it was a virtual carbon copy eight minutes after the interval.
Joel Thiessen worked free on the left before finding Hoek in space. The striker's left-footed effort had plenty of venom and rocketed into the net to put Portland into a commanding lead.
Victory head coach Sergio Taborda had hoped for more consistency from his team, particularly after a strong showing against Ottawa last Saturday.
"It's the same players, it's the same formation, the attitude on the first half was poor," Taborda said. "We are in the mid-season, and these teams, they're fighting for the top. So they come here with everything, and I thought the players' attitude today was kind of, they give up."
The Victory had their best chance of the half just before Hoek's first goal, starting with impressive work from Zico Veiga. The forward picked out Andrew Sousa with a fine pass. Sousa appeared to be clear on goal, but Neil Harris swept in from behind to deflect his shot wide of the post.
Substitute Hayk Kaya had a golden opportunity to give the Victory a consolation goal, rounding Portland keeper Terrance Dieterich three minutes from the final whistle. With the hard work done, Kaya only needed to tap the ball into the open net, but somehow managed to hit the post. The ball deflected to Veiga, who looked to be pushed in the back as he tried to shoot. The referee failed to spot the infraction.
Fireworks ensued at the final whistle, as Portland defenders disapproved of the way Victory defender Pat Hamilton challenged Dieterich for a corner. The referee and coaches had to separate the players as they headed back to the locker room.
The Victory got more disappointing news when skipper Sousa had to leave the game in the 77th minute with a hamstring injury. The former New England Revolution reserve has been a bright spot for the team all season, but is unlikely to return for the remainder of the campaign.
Next week will feature a double header for the Victory, as the club heads to Vermont to take on the Voltage on Wednesday night. The team returns home to Veterans Memorial Stadium Saturday night where they will face off against the Western Mass Pioneers, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
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