PITTSBURG, Calif. — At one point, Pittsburg was one of the most feared teams in the entire North Coast Section.
Now, they’re simply struggling to get a win.
After the Pirates 2-2 tie against San Joaquin Section opponent Inderkum, Pittsburg’s record stands at 1-6-3, one of the worst in recent memory and certainly not the way the NCS DI semifinalists envision their road to the championship.
“This year I do not have real good quality players," said Pittsburg head coach Rentato Monroy. “I’m not looking for big wins right now, I’m looking for the team chemistry develop better.”
Pittsburg did have a promising start in the game by getting on the board first. Quatama Massaquoi used his speed to dribble the ball down the wing and used his vision to find David Salas with the perfect cross where Salas finished the ball give Pittsburg the 1-0 lead 10 minutes into the match.
“I’ve been working on my ball control and develop as a player," said Massaquoi.
“It kind of surprised me. I did not expect that cross from him," said Salas. “I just knew when Quatama took that run. I was just so confident I was going to make that goal because nobody was really marking me.”
It took six minutes for Inderkum to tie it up as Noel Hernandez scored off the one-on-one encounter nailing the bottom corner over Pittsburg goalkeeper Jax Williams.
Coming after halftime 1-1, Inderkum took the lead five minutes in. Elijah Stanley right foot shot off a ball assisted by Hernandez gave Inderkum 2-1 lead.
But Pittsburg knotted it all up five minutes later, as a one time shot by Leo Gutierrez equalized the game.
Inderkum’s offense presented a lot of opportunities late in the game, but Williams stepped up big time, especially in the last 10 minutes of the game. Williams made a diving save, securing the ball that could’ve put Pittsburg in a deeper hole this non-league play.
Pittsburg looks to build momentum heading into BVAL play in its final non-league game of the year against Castro Valley on Saturday, Jan. 5 at 6 p.m. Inderkum hosts Woodland on Friday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m.
