When the West Virginia Chaos, the top team in the South Atlantic Division of the Premier Development League, hosts the team residing in the cellar for a pair of home matches, it's expected the Chaos would take the six points available with two convincing wins.
However, expectations were not met as Ace Gonya headed home the game winner in additional time as the River City Rovers stunned the Chaos 2-1 Saturday at Schoenbaum Stadium.
"It's a very disappointing result, very disappointing," said West Virginia coach Chris Grassie. "We controled the game, controlled possession. We just didn't have the killer instinct. We were way too nice."
In a match that strangely felt like Friday's 1-1 draw between both teams in Huntington, West Virginia got on the board first as Dan Smee headed home Stu Grabel's cross from the right flank in the 12th minute. River City thought it had tied things up in the 23rd minute when Dylan Terry slipped a shot past West Virginia keeper Tyler Atwell, but it was disallowed as Terry was deemed offside.
Despite dominating possession in the first half and having a halftime lead, West Virginia (5-3-2) could not get in rhythm in the second half, allowing more time of possession to the Rovers.
"We just let them back into the game," added Grassie. "We did the same thing [Friday] where we fell to pieces. It's maturity, soccer intelligence, and with a lot of back to back games, we were never able to find a fifth gear."
River City (2-3-2) evened the match in the 77th minute with a goal by Robbe Tarver with an assist from Terry.
West Virginia, who remains in first place with 17 points, hits the road for two matches - a rematch Thursday in Lexington against River City, and Saturday in Cincinnati against the Dutch Lions, who currently sit in second place with 15 points.
"We'll bounce back," stated Grassie. "We know we can still win the division. We just need to take care of Cincinnati and [Rovers] when we face at their place. We just need to get away for a few days, rest, regenerate and get back at it."