SAUGUS — As they say, it was a tale of two halves between the Peabody Tanners (7-3-5) and host Saugus Sachems (3-8-4) Wednesday evening.
The first half was a tight, back-and-forth match with each side playing strong defense, but in the second half, Peabody picked up the pace and Saugus couldn’t keep up, resulting in a 5-0 Tanner win.
“It took us a half to wake up. We created chances in the first half; we just couldn’t finish,” Peabody coach Stan McKeen said. “It was a good win in the second half. They moved the ball better and finished the chances.”
The Tanners had momentum in the first half, too, but Saugus stood tall. A highlight moment for the Sachems came when Tanners’ striker Abu Kaba rounded the goalie and had an open net. Kaba shot the ball, but Noah Giron of the Sachems raced back to clear it off line.
“Noah Giron made a fantastic clearance when the goalie came out,” Saugus coach Guillermo Sepulveda said.
Sepulveda was pleased with how his team performed in the first half, saying it worked the ball well and played as a cohesive unit.
“In the first half, we were playing solid team soccer. In the second half, we went a bit rogue,” he said.
With the score tied, 0-0, going into the second half, the Tanners upped the intensity – and, the scoreboard.
Kaba scored two goals in 39 seconds just four minutes into the second half.
“Those first two goals were big. Even after the first goal, I feel that just lifted us,” McKeen said. “[Kaba] does a great job. He’s got such deceptive speed. He can just pick up the ball and then he’s gone. He’s a great player and he’s carried us in scoring, without question.”
After Kaba put the Tanners ahead, they weren’t done.
After a free kick was saved, Hugo Coutinho (goal, 3 assists) tapped in a loose ball to make it 3-0.
Moments later, Kaba ran onto a long ball played by Jaiden Fils-Aime and fired it in to collect his hat trick.
“We changed some things around in the second half position-wise, which seemed to work pretty well,” McKeen said. “AJ Forte (assist), Luke Murray, Hugo Coutinho, and Kacper Kowalczyk did a great job in the middle. It was a good, experimental second half.”
From Saugus’ perspective, Sepulveda thought some of the goals were preventable.
“We made mistakes and they scored on us. That’s what good teams do. They capitalize on your mistakes,” Sepulveda said. “We’ve had a tough season. Once they punched us in the gut, we lost some energy.”
Despite defeat, he praised defenders Cam Soroko and captain Nicholas De Oliveira for their performances.
“Cam Soroko played awesome defense all game. Nicolas De Oliveira was all over the field. He’s a proven captain,” Sepulveda said.
The Sachems’ next game is Friday against Ipswich, while the Tanners wait until Saturday to face Haverhill.