Lennox Charles looked and felt almost like a forlorn fisherman Wednesday afternoon.
Not that Charles was displeased with Polk Middle’s 1-1 draw with Flat Rock Middle at Utz Field, the teams remaining tied after regulation and 10 minutes of extra time. He just felt the result could easily have been much different.
“It feels like we let one get away,” Charles said. “Simply because I felt like we created better chances. It’s not a loss, but it kind of feels like one.”
Get PolkSports delivered to your inbox
Sign up for our free newsletter →
Flat Rock (3-2-1) perennially is a side that challenges Polk Middle, and Wednesday proved no exception. In the latter stages of the second half, especially, the Eagles pushed forward and created a series of chances, though it took a long drive from well outside the penalty area to finally crack the Polk defense, that coming with just under eight minutes left in the match.
That goal evened the score. The Wolverines (5-1-1) struck first in the 35th minute as Alec Fine took a throw-in and raced down the Polk sideline, dribbling deep into the corner before delivering a perfect cross to Quinn Schilling, who fought through a defender and Flat Rock’s goalkeeper to drive Fine’s pass into the net.
Creating additional chances such as that, though, proved challenging in the second half as Flat Rock kept its back line playing deep, packed near the net.
“It was working, getting the ball forward and putting pressure on them. But there were so many times where we had the ball, we had 10 yards, 15 yards of space, and we still just went ahead and tried to get the ball forward instead of connecting a pass,” Charles said. “We’ve just got to learn to be a little more patient at times.”
Polk Middle also battled Flat Rock while battling some injuries as Callaway Cameron missed the match while Ethan Dotson saw limited minutes.
Next up for Polk Middle will be Blue Ridge Conference East Division leader Hendersonville Middle. The undefeated Bearcats visit Utz Field on Monday.
