MATCH REPORT; Madison 3 New Fairfield 0

It was probably tempting fate by pointing out New Fairfield's losing league record before we played them. No game is easy and no win is ever just handed to you on a plate. And it took the whole 90 minutes for the league leaders Madison to subdue a feisty and combative New Fairfield team. For the first half hour of the game Madison looked like they were the visitors to the Exchange field. Re-acquainting ourselves to our cabbage patch of a pitch clearly took some time as the Celts were disjointed, out of sorts and lucky not to lose a goal in those opening minutes.

If it were not for the strong tackling and disruptive play by Halil in those opening minutes then the game may have taken a very different direction. For some reason Madison could not emulate the flowing fast passing style of play that they used to destroy Milford in their last match. As the first half progressed Madison were increasingly random in their ball distribution and lacked a cutting edge. Although Bruce was being kept on his toes ( no tapestry this week! ) during most of the half very few incisive chances were being made by New Fairfield either.
Midway through the first half Madison started to calm down and the introduction of Carlos and Jorge really started to change things to the positive. More possession and better passing started to become evident.

With only five minutes left in the half Madison finally got the breakthrough they had being trying so hard to achieve. A ball into the New Fairfield box was worked over twice by Tano and Carlos before Jorge latched on to a loose ball to slam it into the net. A wave of relief swept through the team which took them through to the half time break and a good discussion on positions and subbing!


The second half was a much better performance by Madison although never easy. Many more chances came to Carlos, Tano and Safet but nothing would hit the back of the net. Then a great move by Madison really put them into the driving seat for the rest of the game.

A fabulous ball was swept over from the Madison right field by Carlos right into the box were it was met full on by the in rushing Jorge who crashed the ball into the net with a beautiful header. Two goals for him and a second for Madison. To their credit, New Fairfield never gave up and pushed hard in a way that belied their lowly league status. Their effective use of the offside trap was immensely frustrating for the Madison forwards and it looked like this was going to end up being a two goal game until Carlos burst onto the scene again.

In fact the third goal for Madison was all Carlos. After latching onto a loose ball he swept into the opposition box, tricked the goalie once then twice before slamming the ball into the net for an anxiety easing third for Madison. Several chances came and went for Madison after this including a 'sitter' of a miss by The Judge. Tano also had several golden opportunities to score through the game but was unlucky, especially in the very last minute of the game when he was on a break that would surely have given Madison their fourth only for the ref to blow the final whistle! A tough game but Madison ground out the victory in the end and remain top of the pile.


MAN OF THE MATCH; Halil. Although their were some great performances today by Carlos and of course, Jorge the MOM goes to Halil for his constant work rate and probing. An industrious style of play that helped Madison regain the ball when they most needed it

COOK OF THE MATCH; Ilhan! Some great fun in the post match BarB Q! Superb food and great company. Let's do it again soon!

Action photos by Jodingo!!