There wasn't a whole lot to talk about after the RailHawks' 2-0 loss to Rochester on Wednesday night. It was hot. Both teams were sluggish. The RailHawks played awful. The Rhinos played good enough to win 2-0 and did we mention it was hot?
Well, after a few standard questions about the game itself, David Fellerath of the Independent Weekly and I had a few personnel-related questions. Particularly, guys we hadn't seen on the pitch in awhile like Brad Rusin, Kupono Low, Sallieu Bundu and Matt Bobo.
The news about Rusin was the most exciting. After going on trial in Europe, Rusin is due to sign with a first-division club in Denmark sometime next week. Rusin, 23, has been rock-solid as a defensive midfielder this year for Carolina after playing in the back last season.
"He's one guy who's got a lot of potential and a good future," Rennie said. "I think playing in Europe is the next step for him."
The RailHawks' median height just dipped a little bit. Rusin was 6-foot-4 (without his spiked hair giving him an extra four inches) and the lankiest of the club.
Rennie said that Kupuno Low — one of two original RailHawks remaining with the team — could "possibly" fill the role of Rusin. Low has not played this year after tearing his knee in the preseason. He has, however, been practicing with the squad for a few weeks.
As for Bundu, the news isn't as good: "He's got a facial injury, so he's probably out for the rest of this season or close to it," Rennie said. "He might be able to come back but he will have been out so long that it will be hard for him to get fit again."
Bundu scored four goals in 10 games for Carolina this season. He was the team leader in the category before the injury, and he's only been passed by Etienne Barbara and Josh Gardner since.
My reason for questioning about Bobo is not because he hasn't been seen in uniform in awhile — he's been listed as a reserve in each of the past two games. But I wondered just how he went from playing every minute of every game to the bench in back-to-back contests.
John Gilkerson got the work at center-back these past two games, and while Gilkerson looked solid against Montreal (and perhaps an even better compliment to Mark Schulte in a 2-0 win), he looked ineffective against Rochester (a 2-0 loss... but don't most things look worse when you lose?).
Rennie said it was part of giving Bobo, a second-division veteran, a late-season break so he was fresh for the last stretch.
