By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
The Rivera Raiders are starting the second round of District 32-6A soccer much better than they began the first round earlier this month.
The Raiders rallied from a 1-0 first-half deficit to defeat Hanna 2-1 in overtime Tuesday evening at the Golden Eagles’ field.
Rivera lost at home to Hanna 1-0 to open 32-6A competition Feb. 1.
The nightcap of Tuesday’s doubleheader between the Rivera and Hanna girls was postponed after the Lady Raiders’ bus reportedly had an accident en route to Hanna for the game. The severity of the accident was not immediately known.
Lady Eagles coach Eliseo Guzman said the game may be rescheduled for today at Hanna, possibly at 5:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, there were plenty of smiles all around for the Raiders after they got past the Eagles, their city rivals.
“To be honest, I think we were intimidated by Hanna when we played them the first time,” Rivera coach Salvador Garcia said. “Yes, we got intimated, and I told our guys (before this matchup), ‘If you play with confidence, it’s going to be a different outcome to the game,’ and it was.
“I think, for the most part tonight, we kept our discipline tactically,” Garcia added. “Hanna had no big chances (to score), just a mistake by us on a set play that they scored on. Other than that, they had no chances. We had a few good chances that came our way.”
Rivera remains tied with Harlingen South for the district lead with a 4-2 record and 12 points. South, which beat Los Fresnos 4-1 on Tuesday, has the same 4-2 record with 12 points as well.
The Hawks and Raiders play next Tuesday at Harlingen South. Before that, though, Rivera is at home against Los Fresnos and South is at San Benito on Friday.
The Eagles got on the scoreboard first against the Raiders Tuesday just five minutes into the match when a long free kick from the right side was headed in from close range by Roberto Palomo for a 1-0 lead.
The Raiders tied the score at 1 on an “autogol.” With 10 minutes left in the first half, a Hanna defender attempted to clear the ball from his team’s goalmouth, but his strong kick went off a teammate, carried backwards and landed in the net.
The score remained deadlocked though 80 minutes of regulation, so two 10-minute halves of OT were played.
Three minutes into the first half of OT, Rivera took a direct kick from the right side. The ball came to Micheal Esquivel, who was positioned near the left post. He headed it into the corner of the goal without much room to spare to give the Raiders the goal that eventually won the game, even though they had to finish the contest with only 10 players.
One of the Raiders picked up his second yellow card of the match with five minutes remaining, and Rivera had to play the rest of the way one man down.
“Tonight was just our night,” Garcia said. “Even though we went down to 10 men, we kept our poise. I think Hanna got a little frustrated because there were no spaces (to get off a good shot).
“We’re lucky we got the three points (for the win), and now, we’ve got to move on,” the Rivera coach added. “That’s the way it is.”