Ramirez lifts OC Blues
IRVINE — Christofer Ramirez likes to use his elbows to create space at times. Referees have warned the striker about throwing them around.
Midway through the Orange County Blues FC regular season, Ramirez made sure there’s little elbow room when it comes to the final two playoffs spots in the Western Conference.
Ramirez brought the Blues back into the playoff picture, scoring a goal in a 1-0 win against the OKC Energy FC at UC Irvine on Wednesday night.
The El Salvadoran’s seventh goal of the season gave Orange County (7-6-1) its second straight win. The Blues sit in sixth place with 22 points, two behind the fifth-place Energy (7-5-3).
At one point, OKC was the hottest team in the United Soccer League, having won five in a row from May 23 to June 13, a span in which the Blues had only earned one point.
The clubs are heading in opposite directions. OKC dropped its third straight and it failed to score in a match for the first time this season.
The latest setback was a heated one, with Energy players trying to push around the Blues. Ramirez was involved early on because of his elbows, and late, Orange County played a man down because of a hard tackle by Jimmy Turner near midfield.
It didn’t take long for Turner to receive a red card. The defender, who entered in the 77th minute, lasted only two minutes.
Six minutes after Turner exited, OKC almost evened things up off a corner kick. Michael Byskov blasted a shot from way outside the box, and goalkeeper Pepe Miranda came up huge for the Blues.
Miranda, making his 13th start, recorded his fourth shutout. He only made three saves, the last turned out to be the biggest for Orange County, which played a man down in the final 16 minutes.
One goal is all Orange County needed to prevail in consecutive matches for the first time since May and Ramirez provided it. It took a toll on him.
Midway through the opening half, Ramirez went down hard. Gareth Evans finished off Ramirez with his right shoulder after Ramirez fouled Jacob VanCompernolle, and the defender didn’t receive a yellow card for his hit. A couple of minutes earlier, Ramirez and Evans shoved each other, the referee bringing the two together to calm things down.
Other than that, the only other “oohs and aahs” came after a couple of acrobatic throw-ins by OKC’s Michael Harris. The midfielder launched the ball from the left sideline each time, keeping Miranda on his toes with his flip throw-ins.
Evan Newton, OKC’s keeper, also survived a couple of dangerous situations in the first half. The first time defender Peabo Doue got in the way of a Ramirez shot in the 11th minute, using his right foot to knock it out.
Seventeen minutes later, Newton had to make a stop on his own. He came off his line when Josh Suggs, all alone, attacked from the left side, and Newton deflected Suggs’ shot to the right.
Newton had no help in the 33rd minute, when Ramirez finally broke a scoreless tie.
Christopher Santana, from the right side, crossed a ball deep into the box, where Chris Cortez redirected the ball, finding a nearby Ramirez. Ramirez settled the ball, tapping it to his right, before taking a right-footed shot.
Ramirez didn’t get everything on the ball, but with Newton protecting the near post, he had no chance of stopping the ball headed toward the far left post.
Ramirez celebrated the goal by dropping to his knees. He then flung his arms into the air. The Energy could only watch in disbelief.