Something's wrong with this picture: the play-off semi-finals, with home advantage, and as the ref starts the game we have one substitute while Concord have an entire team on the bench. Even at 8am the heat was intense, and we made our task more difficult by wearing our heat-absorbing black shirts. A hard morning's work was in store.
Our start was more characteristic of the beginning of the season: we were slow to the ball, allowing Concord to press. Within ten minutes Concord took the lead when a player burst through from the edge of the area, skirted a few soft tackles and struck a weak shot from 12 yards that somehow crept in at Samuel's left post.
Not long afterwards Samuel did an Iker Casillas imitation (Spain v Switzerland): as a Concord player chased down a through-ball, Samuel rushed out of his goal and attempted to block with his feet. The ball spun outside the penalty area where, luckily, the onrushing Concord player blasted the ball at his team-mate.
We began to take more control and for the last 25 minutes of the half we didn't give Concord any time on the ball - Joe and Steve harried the Concord midfield whenever they had the ball. Our best chances came mid-way through the half: Ivan had a pop from 20 yards that was top-corner-bound, but the Concord keeper easily plucked it out of the air. Shortly afterwards Bardot collected a poor Concord goal kick, drove straight into their penalty area and thumped a shot from a tight angle that their keeper could only parry into the net: think Maicon (Brazil v N. Korea) meets Snijder (Netherlands v Japan). Minutes later Bardot laid the ball off from the top of the D right into Ivan's path, but his rushed shot almost cleared the trees. For the remainder of the half we had all the possession but created few clear-cut chances. Mick took to shooting from distance; his last effort, launched from the proximity of the centre circle, skidded wide.
We had the perfect start to the second half when Victor danced through a forest of Concord defenders to meet a cross from the left (Bardot? Pap?) at the far post and bundle the ball over the line. Unfortunately (think USA v Slovenia here) the linesman and ref felt that Victor had been in an offside position and the goal was disallowed.
The game lapsed into a stalemate with most of the play occurring between the penalty areas and neither team able to make a decisive final pass. Apart from smothering a low cross from the left, Samuel had nothing more than routine work to do in goal. As time wore on our legs began to wear down. Twenty minutes from the end a Concord free kick from forty yards out on the left dropped around our penalty area, and the only person in the vicinity was the Concord number 16, who easily nodded the ball past Samuel.
As we pressed for a late equaliser, Concord broke down our left side and a powerful shot was delivered from the edge of the area just inside Samuel's right post. The minutes before and after the final whistle yielded some unsavoury moments and histrionics (think Nicolas Anelka, perhaps) - quel dommage!
With more players we surely would have had the beating of Concord, but in the end we simply ran out of steam. Still, another fine season to be proud of: well done boys.
Squad: Samuel, Kirk, Mick, Mike A, Tim R, Kelvin, Joe, Steve S, Pap, Ivan, Victor, Steve S, Bardot
Monday, June 21, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Irish Village 0 - 3 Newton: Champions!
Our mid-week game on Stoughton's awful pitch set us up nicely for the truly dreadful field that Irish Village had booked for our Sunday game. Heavy rain had made the few patches of grass slick, but mostly the surface was uneven mud. A win here would confirm us as division champs, but a dour defensive display by Irish Village made it difficult.
The Villagers only had 11 players and defended capably for the first half. They had one cast-iron chance, when a free-kick from outside the box on the right was glanced onto the underside of the crossbar by Mike O.
At the other end there was plenty of good goalkeeping too. The keeper touched Mick's header onto the crossbar, Bardot's shot onto a post and another shot by Mick from fully 25 yards on the post. The keeper was proving to be Bardot's nemsis as he turned numerous shots around the posts and over the bar. There was plenty of desperate defending, but we couldn't prise an opening in the first 45.
The second half was more of the same as the Village people were pinned into their own half for long periods. Samuel had two fine chances directly in front of goal, the service each time coming from Bardot on the right, but his touch was heavy on the first pass, then he miscued from close range on the second. Finally, midway through the half Schect hit a free-kick from the right near the half-way line to the edge of the IV area. Samuel touched the ball back and Karsten struck an inch-perfect left-footed drive that went in off the base of the post. A couple of minutes later Pap played a cross from the left that took the keeper by surprise as it bounced in front of him and directly into the roof of the net.
To their credit IV didn't give up and kept pressing to stay in the game. The referee gave them a generous penalty when one of their players headed the ball onto Steve Gans' arm, but Mike was equal to the kick and also bravely gathered the ball at the second attempt.
Another Karsten goal wrapped the game up shortly afterwards. He didn't make great contact with the ball from ten yards out, but it looped up and over the keeper into the net.
Squad: Mike O, Schect, Mick, Tim R, Mike A, Pap, Andy, Joe, Karsten, Steve G, Ivan, Tim T, Victor, Bardot, Samuel
The Villagers only had 11 players and defended capably for the first half. They had one cast-iron chance, when a free-kick from outside the box on the right was glanced onto the underside of the crossbar by Mike O.
At the other end there was plenty of good goalkeeping too. The keeper touched Mick's header onto the crossbar, Bardot's shot onto a post and another shot by Mick from fully 25 yards on the post. The keeper was proving to be Bardot's nemsis as he turned numerous shots around the posts and over the bar. There was plenty of desperate defending, but we couldn't prise an opening in the first 45.
The second half was more of the same as the Village people were pinned into their own half for long periods. Samuel had two fine chances directly in front of goal, the service each time coming from Bardot on the right, but his touch was heavy on the first pass, then he miscued from close range on the second. Finally, midway through the half Schect hit a free-kick from the right near the half-way line to the edge of the IV area. Samuel touched the ball back and Karsten struck an inch-perfect left-footed drive that went in off the base of the post. A couple of minutes later Pap played a cross from the left that took the keeper by surprise as it bounced in front of him and directly into the roof of the net.
To their credit IV didn't give up and kept pressing to stay in the game. The referee gave them a generous penalty when one of their players headed the ball onto Steve Gans' arm, but Mike was equal to the kick and also bravely gathered the ball at the second attempt.
Another Karsten goal wrapped the game up shortly afterwards. He didn't make great contact with the ball from ten yards out, but it looped up and over the keeper into the net.
Squad: Mike O, Schect, Mick, Tim R, Mike A, Pap, Andy, Joe, Karsten, Steve G, Ivan, Tim T, Victor, Bardot, Samuel
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Stoughton 1 - 2 Newton
After a couple of false starts ten days ago and a forfeit from Hudson, we clinched a play-off place with a hard-fought victory over Stoughton on a rain-swept... what was it, exactly, that we played on? There was a slope into the bushes on one side, and the odd rock showed through a surface that was unevenly covered with what looked like sea urchins or dishwashing brushes. The field hardly improved the quality of the game, which was scrappy and disjointed.
Stoughton started the game with only nine players and we piled on the pressure to try to score an early goal. In the first couple of minutes Victor cut in from the right and pulled the ball back to Ivan, who hit a dipping shot from 20 yards that almost surprised the keeper. As Stoughton got up to full strength Karsten came close when his far-post header from a right-side corner was tipped onto the crossbar by the keeper. Karsten then made a good run down the left and cut the ball inside for Bardot, but his shot hit the side netting. We eventually opened the scoring from a set-piece: Mick drove in a free kick from the right side and Karsten connected about eight yards out to flick the ball past the keeper.
Stoughton played a very physical game, and there was some drama when one of their backs wrestled Pedro to the ground. The ref eventually resumed control and the game went on. Towards the end of the half Mick was floored by a disgraceful two-footed lunge that merited worse punishment than the yellow card the ref produced.
Although we kept the ball in the Stoughton half for most of the first period, they had a couple of fast forwards who were always dangerous on the break. Mike A and Pap made some timely interceptions from the wings and Mick and Ivan stood firm in the centre; Mike O in goal had little to do. With just seconds left in the half, though, Stoughton equalised with their first real chance, a solid header from a corner on our right side.
The second half was a little more balanced as we tired in the difficult conditions. Stoughton started to hold the ball better, but our defence cut out most attacks before they became too threatening. We were fairly toothless in attack, although Bardot had a good pop when he picked up a loose ball thirty yards out and hit a daisy-cutter just wide of the post with the keeper beaten.
With about ten minutes remaining Mick intercepted a pass just inside our area, juggled the ball between two Stoughton players, and sprayed a perfect pass out to the right wing. Joe (I'm reliably informed) collected the ball and played it forward to Pedro, who slipped as he tried to get around the keeper. He got quickly to his feet but was felled again, this time by the Stoughton goalie: penalty, perhaps the only favourable decision we got from the ref in the second half. Pedro took the kick himself, calmly slotting into the left corner.
With the clock ticking down, Stoughton pushed forward and almost equalised when Mike O advanced to collect a tame cross. The ball bounced off one of those sea urchins and skidded past Mike's right hand. Luckily, the lurking Stoughton attacker was equally surprised and Pedro cleared the ball to safety. At the other end, Bardot made a weaving run on the right that took him past defenders to the bye-line, from where he pulled the ball back for Karsten to tap in. What was a perfectly good goal was bizarrely disallowed by the ref, claiming that Karsten had been offside. In the end it made no difference as we confirmed a play-off spot and now have a chance to win the division.
Squad: Mike O, Mick, Pap, Mike A, Tim R, Ivan, Andy, Karsten, Joe, Victor, Tim T, Steve G, Pedro, Bardot
Moral support: Kirk
Stoughton started the game with only nine players and we piled on the pressure to try to score an early goal. In the first couple of minutes Victor cut in from the right and pulled the ball back to Ivan, who hit a dipping shot from 20 yards that almost surprised the keeper. As Stoughton got up to full strength Karsten came close when his far-post header from a right-side corner was tipped onto the crossbar by the keeper. Karsten then made a good run down the left and cut the ball inside for Bardot, but his shot hit the side netting. We eventually opened the scoring from a set-piece: Mick drove in a free kick from the right side and Karsten connected about eight yards out to flick the ball past the keeper.
Stoughton played a very physical game, and there was some drama when one of their backs wrestled Pedro to the ground. The ref eventually resumed control and the game went on. Towards the end of the half Mick was floored by a disgraceful two-footed lunge that merited worse punishment than the yellow card the ref produced.
Although we kept the ball in the Stoughton half for most of the first period, they had a couple of fast forwards who were always dangerous on the break. Mike A and Pap made some timely interceptions from the wings and Mick and Ivan stood firm in the centre; Mike O in goal had little to do. With just seconds left in the half, though, Stoughton equalised with their first real chance, a solid header from a corner on our right side.
The second half was a little more balanced as we tired in the difficult conditions. Stoughton started to hold the ball better, but our defence cut out most attacks before they became too threatening. We were fairly toothless in attack, although Bardot had a good pop when he picked up a loose ball thirty yards out and hit a daisy-cutter just wide of the post with the keeper beaten.
With about ten minutes remaining Mick intercepted a pass just inside our area, juggled the ball between two Stoughton players, and sprayed a perfect pass out to the right wing. Joe (I'm reliably informed) collected the ball and played it forward to Pedro, who slipped as he tried to get around the keeper. He got quickly to his feet but was felled again, this time by the Stoughton goalie: penalty, perhaps the only favourable decision we got from the ref in the second half. Pedro took the kick himself, calmly slotting into the left corner.
With the clock ticking down, Stoughton pushed forward and almost equalised when Mike O advanced to collect a tame cross. The ball bounced off one of those sea urchins and skidded past Mike's right hand. Luckily, the lurking Stoughton attacker was equally surprised and Pedro cleared the ball to safety. At the other end, Bardot made a weaving run on the right that took him past defenders to the bye-line, from where he pulled the ball back for Karsten to tap in. What was a perfectly good goal was bizarrely disallowed by the ref, claiming that Karsten had been offside. In the end it made no difference as we confirmed a play-off spot and now have a chance to win the division.
Squad: Mike O, Mick, Pap, Mike A, Tim R, Ivan, Andy, Karsten, Joe, Victor, Tim T, Steve G, Pedro, Bardot
Moral support: Kirk
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