The Red Team finally got their first positive result in the Major Division when they battled the ten-man Albanian Stars to a 2:2 draw at Oak Brook Sports Core last Sunday. The Byki are 0-1-3 for the season and trail fifth-place CKS Warta by two points, following Warta’s stunning 7:0 demolition of FK Republika Srpska.

The Byki played a cohesive match for the most part and did well to use the space on the wings to stretch out the Albanians. But mental errors on the defensive end proved costly, a lesson being played out with unfortunate regularity so far this season. The inability to lock down the Stars proved to be the difference between winning and settling for a draw.

The Byki took the initiative and snatched lead after 14 minutes. Edgar Navarro stole a pass at midfield and accelerated into space after dribbling past a defender. He found Marek Ciszewski making the run on the right side. Ciszewski sprinted past his marker and drilled a near-post shot that the keeper barely touched. “I saw the goalie anticipating a cross,” said Ciszewski. “So I just took what he gave me.”

Three minutes later, Alex Safford scorched through the right side of the Stars’ defense. The keeper made a desperate block of Safford’s open shot.

At about the midpoint of the first half, the match was delayed for about 25 minutes when a lightning alarm shut down the Sports Core fields. The break was not beneficial to the Byki, who were dominating the match at the time. The stoppage was a welcome relief for the Albanians, who used the opportunity to regroup.

The Stars were unlucky not to have equalized in the 35th minute when a funny bounce sent the ball behind the Byki backline. The Stars’ striker faked goalie Aaron Barsotti to the turf, but sweeper Kvar Black saved the day when he raced back to prevent a certain goal. The Stars kept it up and got their just reward in the 39th minute when they took advantage of a breakdown on the left side of the Byki defense.

The Byki were inches away from regaining the lead in the 54th minute. Todd Trowbridge dribbled the ball to the byline on the right side and centered for Ciszewski. The striker hit a tremendous side volley, only to see the crossbar reject his bold scoring attempt.

Seven minutes later, Mike Frantz had things cooking on the right wing and sent the ball to Bobby Safford. The winger dribbled and danced his way into an opening, forcing the keeper to make a difficult save at the near post.

The Byki went 2:1 to the good in the 65th minute, as they surged forward on the counterattack. Francisc Boghicev slowed the play down as he approached the penalty area and sent the ball back for Bobby Safford. Showing no hesitation, Safford drilled a rocket from 25 yards that gave the goalkeeper no chance.

But the Byki frittered away all that hard work in only two minutes. The Stars converted the second in a series of back-to-back corner kicks. A well-placed cross to the far post found a sliding Stars player to head the ball home. Byki defending was lax, as the Stars player was left unmarked and no one bothered to cover the far post. The lapse was especially difficult to accept, given that the Stars were shorthanded since the start of the contest.

The chances kept coming for the Byki. In the 74th minute, PJ Klacko put Boghicev into the clear with a terrific through pass. The keeper came out aggressively and made an outstanding diving save to thwart the breakaway attempt.

With four minutes to go. Alex Safford got out of trouble in the Albanian area by laying the ball to brother Bobby, who then fed Ammin Mehreioskouei on the right side of the area. Mehreioskouei appeared to have a good angle, yet the netminder got down quickly to block the shot.

The Byki need better mental discipline in matches where one mistake can cost points. They have demonstrated the ability to compete in the Major Division and must find consistency week to week.

BYKI LINEUP
(4-4-2): Barsotti – Black, Dziekiewicz, Hoeper, Suhayda – Navarro, A. Safford, B. Safford, Klacko (c) – Boghicev, Ciszewski. Bench: Frantz, Mehreioskouei, Stamatinos, Taylor, Trowbridge.

BYKI SCORING SUMMARY
1:0 – Ciszewski 1 (Navarro); 14th.
2:1 – B. Safford 1 (Boghicev); 65th.

BYKI MEN OF THE MATCH
Kvar Black and PJ Klacko