MATCH REPORT; East Haven 0 Madison 3

Another second half revival by the Celts was enough to see off a spirited East Haven team on a field that would not have been out of place in Lilliput. Even Gulliver would have complained about the teeny dimensions of the field that allowed The Hulk's kick outs to become one of the main attack weapons for the team. A superb fifteen minute start by the Celts came somewhat unstuck by the same general first half lethargy that has hit all of Madison's games this season.


Having had total control of the ball and of the the game, passes started to go astray and increasingly the last resort was a long ball to the chronically offside front line. This really started to unhinge the shape of the team but luckily East Haven were in no position to take advantage. Their attacks were scare and feeble at best although with the game precariously balanced at nothing each they did have the best chance of the game when a shot had to be cleared off the line, hockey style, by the The Hulk to prevent the home side taking an undeserved lead. This was the first and only action The Hulk had to take in the game and he could have spent the rest of the game fishing in the Atlantic with a cardboard cut out left in his place!

As both sides edged towards a tied first half the notable features for Madison were the great performances being put in by Jorge up front and Halil in midfield closely followed by the running and blocking of Fribeka.


The second half saw Madison take more and more control of the game with more shots on goal and a lot more possession. It was maybe a slight surprise that when the breakthrough came it would be off the head of the opposition defender as he flicked a great Talet cross into his own goal to give the Celts the lead. This spurred the team on to greater heights with their passing and wing play becoming much more probing and incisive. East Haven were really beginning to toil under this type of unrelenting pressure and a second goal was clearly coming and when it did it was a work of art. The ball broke to El Flaco, probably 35 yards out, and he did not hesitate for a second to fire in a screamer of a shot that dipped at the last minute to leave the opposition goalie clawing at air as the ball sailed over his head and into the net. Yet another goal of the season contender from the maestro Carlos and a well deserved two goal lead for Madison. After this the Celts continued to push and sealed the deal with a third goal when the ball broke across the East Haven goalmouth allowing the lurking Jorge to round off a great personal performance by scoring Madison's third of the day.

Several chances came and went for the Celts to add to their lead but at full time the score stood at 3 - 0.


Man of the Match; Jorge A superb running and passing game by Jorge was the standout performance of the day. Always available for the pass, always making the intelligent run and scoring a great poachers goal at the end! Good showings by Halil and Fribeka in the second half completed their sterling performances throughout. And of course the touch of genius by El Flaco made the game memorable! Thanks to The Hulk and TomA for a truly superb array of post game beers and great chicken wings and guacamole from El Flaco!