Friday’s home match at Balzli Field between St. Aloysius and Hartfield Academy was one that lent itself to a Charles Dickens story.

It was the tale of two halves, as hot-shooting St. Al leaped out to a 3-0 lead in the first half.

Great expectations for the second half weren’t satisfied, but the Flashes (4-3) managed to hold on to a 4-1 victory.

The Flashes (4-3) will need a better effort Monday with Class 2A St. Andrew’s paying a visit to Balzli Field. For first-year coach Scott Mathis, it’s all about laying the foundation for winning.

“It’s a win,” Scott Mathis said of the victory over Hartfield. “I think the boys have been beaten up so badly these past three or four years, they’re just used to losing. Maybe they just don’t know the meaning of winning, because they haven’t won that often. Getting up that far so fast, they just didn’t know what to do. We’re just learning here. I’ve got to teach these boys to want to win.”

In the first half, the Flashes had their way. Gabriel Riveros and Gradon Bourne found the back of the net early, as St. Al kept the ball on Hartfield’s end of the field.

Later in the half, Blake Hudson took advantage of Hartfield’s keeper’s mistake, shooting past him at the top of the goal box for a 3-0 lead.

The second half was a different story. Passes weren’t as sharp and Andrew Lyons managed to get behind St. Al’s defense and find the back of the net to get Hartfield (0-2) back in the contest.

“I think we just kind of slacked off,” St. Al’s Forest Logue said. “I think we should’ve distributed the ball a bit more. We need to cross it a lot more because people are trying to take too many shots out on the corners. It seemed like everyone wanted to let it fire, let it go, and we needed to play possession more.”

In the 62nd minute, Sam Stanton, making his return after missing a few games with an illness, finally struck gold after missing a few shots in the first half. He dribbled through the defense and poked a shot past the keeper’s reach and inside the right post.

The Flashes were disappointed with the margin of victory Friday, but it’s a marked change in the expectations on Grove Street this season. Winning isn’t a surprise any more and chemistry with the team is much improved.

“Last year, we had the five seniors and they hogged the ball a lot. This year, we’ve got a lot more younger kids and there are a lot more chances for everybody else,” Riveros said. “We’ve improved at lot since last year.”