Bravos embark upon another challenging road trip this weekend
Rio Grande Valley Bravos FC experienced first-hand last weekend the challenge of playing soccer matches on the road in the no-frills Premier Development League.
The Bravos were defeated 3-1 last Friday by the West Texas United Sockers in Midland before suffering a 3-0 loss at the DFW Tornados on Saturday.
It doesn’t get any easier for the Bravos (2-4-3) this weekend as they play at the El Paso Patriots (3-5-3) tonight and return to Midland to face the Sockers (5-3-1) on Saturday.
Bravos coach Juan de Dios Garcia said long hours on the road, a lack of sleep during the journey and a reduced roster of only 14 players contributed to last weekend’s disappointing results. He said the Bravos could face similar circumstances this weekend.
“We practiced with one team last week and wound up playing with another team (because some of the players didn’t show up to make the trip),” Garcia said. “It hurt us. The players have to be serious (about playing for the Bravos) and make a commitment to the team.
“We may have only 14 players again,” he added. “We’re struggling right now. If the trip (driving to El Paso) doesn’t wear us down too much and the players get a little more rest, I think we’ll be in much better shape to play and we should be able to do better.”
Garcia said he is strongly considering cutting the players he was counting upon who are declining to make the road trips. There could be as many as five, he said.
Garcia believed the Bravos played better last Saturday against the Tornados (5-2-2), who lead the Mid-South Division of the Premier Development League’s Southern Conference, after last Friday’s loss to the Sockers, although “the score didn’t show it.”
One of the Bravos who has consistently performed fairly well is goalkeeper Juan Gamboa, a former Pace standout who also plays for the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College Scorpions. Gamboa again stopped a penalty kick in each match last weekend to bring his total on the season to five thwarted penalty attempts.
“Our road trip was definitely a learning experience,” Gamboa said. “(Despite being without a full roster), we seemed to take control of the game (at times). But as it usually happens against good teams, one small mistake leads to a goal.
“Seeing the team play well is what’s important,” he added. “We know we can compete against any team in the region, we just need to start scoring and erasing those little mistakes that are costing us games we should be getting points out of.”
After this weekend’s pair of matches, the Bravos return home on July 3 to face West Texas United at Brownsville Sports Park and then play host to the Laredo Heat on July 10.
Roy Hess writes for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him via e-mail at rhess@brownsvilleherald.com
