"There are no moral victories in football."
That was the oft-repeated refrain from nearly everyone in the Stars dressing room following the team's 4-2 defeat to Banija, the highest-ranked team in Group B.
Therefore, no one was celebrating the fact the Stars actually struck first through midfielder Clayton Wilson's second goal of the tournament, a well-placed direct free kick that sailed just over the outstretched glove of Banijan goalkeeper Lemuel Bereket in the ninth minute. No one was bragging about Jake Campos rocketing a right-booted shot past a diving Bereket in the 14th minute that gave the Stars a short-lived 2-0 advantage.
No one even pointed out how Carlton Sandt made 14 saves, many of which were highlight reel-worthy, or how he single-handedly kept the Stars within striking distance until the waning seconds of stoppage time, when Banijan striker Ilman Jawara banged through his third goal of the match to bring about the final margin for the Kadongo Kamu.
No, the Stars (0-0-3) were still seething over the defensive lapses that left Sandt out to dry far too many times, particularly in the 21st and 34th minutes when Jawara notched his first two tallies. A controversial call for a direct free kick in the 58th minute after Sarzonia midfielder John Taylor pulled down Banijan left winger Gitonga Kahara just outside the box. Banija manager Marcus Waters and Stars manager Bryan Ostrom got into a heated exchange when Waters argued the foul occurred in the box and deserved a penalty and Ostrom argued that the foul occurred outside the box.
"That's really on me," Ostrom said. "I made my case and the referees called it correctly. I never should have taken the bait and argued with Waters."
Kahara converted the free kick to give the heavy favourites a 3-2 lead.
A couple of players privately fumed over the attendance at Nottingham Pavilion, which saw only 14,092 in attendance in a small football-specific stadium which included a sizable contingent of Banijan supporters.
"It felt like neutral ground," one Stars reserve said, shaking their head.
"I heard Carlton get booed a couple of times. I was really pissed off," said another player.
As for Sandt himself, he said the team needed to earn the fan support.
"We're an Under 21 national team facing senior national teams," he said. "Sarzonia loves winners and we aren't giving our country one right now."
The Stars might be doing relatively well for a team that's in way over its skill level, but they're still in last place in Group B at 0-0-3. They've scored four goals, but have also conceded 11.
"We know we're in a difficult position when it comes to the teams we're competing against," Ostrom said. "We recognize it's going to be difficult for us match in and match out to compete at a high level, but we're going out there and we are fully committed to learning from our mistakes and playing the best football we can."
A question about whether or not the Stars would compete in the Under 21 World Cup got angrily brushed off by Ostrom.
"There's a reason we're competing here and not [in Valanora]," he said. "That's all I'm going to say about that."
