MATCH REPORT; Madison 2 Bridgeport 0

Access Denied For The Champions As They Fall To Madison Magic

The champions came to town this weekend and left with their tails between their legs. A resounding victory for the Madison Celts provided a welcome three points and added to their remarkable unbeaten home record now stretching back over two years. Whatever magic the Madison home field is conjuring up worked again as Bridgeport fell under the spell. This was as complete a performance as you could hope for from Madison. Impregnable at the back, forceful in midfield, skillful upfront and overall way too much for Bridgeport to handle.

Playing in the lush paddy field that doubles for a soccer pitch at Madison, both teams got off to a bruising no holds barred start. Tough tackles and tough talk seemed to be the flavor of the day as the referee had his work cut out trying to keep the lid from coming off this highly pressured pot of a game. Several chances fell to both teams in an absorbing first half. Kevinho, in fine form, made a number of finger tip saves to deny Bridgeport while at the other end Madison's shots were just narrowly missing the target. The home teams defense were strong and unyielding giving the potent Bridgeport attack only a few crumbs to eat from. The combination of Tim and La Boca along with the defensive backs held the line so well that the Bridgeport strike force would be tired of hearing La Boca shout "Access Denied!" long before the end of the game. The Bridgeport defense was also having a torrid time dealing with the re-invigorated Carlito, back from his injury absence. He was in the mood to provide a soccer master class and his long, mazy dribbling runs combined with his gravity defying twists and turns had the Bridgeport defense in disarray.
However, after a tough first half the honors were even and the game nicely balanced for a tough second half.

As the second half matured it was clear that Madison were taking the ascendancy in the game. Carlito's runs were continuously piercing the Bridgeport defense and their only answer to his skilful running was to dump him on his backside. It was after one of these fouls that Madison grabbed the lead. Carlito had made it to the edge of the Bridgeport penalty box before the obligatory foul occurred. As he slowly got up Scotty placed the ball on the edge of the box and shaped to rocket the ball as hard as he could but instead rolled the ball gently to Carlito who was standing unmarked outside the box. He didn’t take a second look before he blasted the ball high into the Bridgeport net. One nil to Madison and at this point in the game a very well deserved lead. After this Bridgeport came at Madison with all guns blazing but the home team's defense was in full lockdown mode as ball after ball was cleared and tough tackles halted every approach. No matter what they tried the Madison net was being protected. Great back up support from the midfield, especially Jodinho and Roniildo, really helped as they got into the act by doing some great goal mouth clearances. A clearly disheartened Bridgeport team were then further weakened when another great run by Carlito was finished off with a great pass across the 8 yard box where it was happily met with the flying boot of Fribeka as he slammed the ball into the net for a 2 goal lead. After this Bridgeport were a broken team and any chance of them coming back into the game was ended when one of their more hot headed players was sent off for a second bookable offence. Madison played out the last ten minutes of the game stroking their ball around at an almost leisurely pace. A great victory for Madison as they see off a sorry looking Bridgeport team who will have to improve greatly if they want to retain their title. All Madison have to do now is to win at least one point away from the magic of their home field to break the nasty hex on their away form.

MAN OF THE MATCH; CARLITO An outstanding performance by the " skinny one" as he tormented the Bridgeport defense all day. One goal and one assist and a lot of fun watching him play makes him the clear man of the match. A few players also came close with La Boca and Tim in great form. A special mention to Scotty for bravely opening his home and showing great hospitality and cooking skills for the team. I do love those Bubba burgers!