Outside the Pitch
Updated: Mar 4
Cleveland SC is heading into their second season under coach Lewis Dunne after his first was cut short under “the covid year.” Dunne is looking to turn the next page of his coaching career as a head coach after spending one in an assistant role and one as a player for the club. More than anything, Dunne is looking forward and excited to personally put his fingerprints on this year’s squad as the team’s first friendly and regular-season game approaches.
With the friendly against the Ambassadors U-23 team on May 12th, 2021 and the first match against the Rochester Lancers on May 16th, Dunne expects the quality of play to be a “little gunky” as the club added some fresh and youthful faces to the bunch. The club’s primary focus is to look at this upcoming friendly as an opportunity to get all the rust out. Dunne added that he wants his team to “get all the bad habits out of the way” and focus on developing a “good flow on the pitch.” “If we are going to make mistakes, then Wednesday is the day to do that.” Although Dunne admits that there has been some roster turn over, he sets his sights on three players in (Forward) Vinny Bell, (Midfielder) Mikey Derezic, and (Defender) Boban Cancar, who he believes make up the “core” that will help stabilize the club moving into the upcoming NPSL season.
Notably, Vinny Bell led the NPSL in both goals (8) and assists (6) in the 2019 season. While Mikey Derezic was fifth that year in goals tailing up 2 for the campaign.
After the upcoming friendly against the Ambassadors U-23 team, the club returns to regular-season action against the Rochester Lancers just four days later. The Lancers finished second in the tables under Cleveland SC in the 2019 NPSL season. As the club looks forward to their long-awaited first game of the season, one of their former players Antonio Manfut will be notably suited up in different colors on the opposing side for the competition, as he signed with the Lancers this past week.
By,
DeWayne Scott
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