MATCH REPORT; Madison 1 Orange 1

Madison failed in their attempt to close the gap at the top of the league after a late goal by Orange forced the Celts to share the spoils. The draw, which is the Madison teams fifth of the season, leaves them still three points behind Orange and five behind new leaders Guilford Bell curve.

The game itself started very well for Madison and with such a strong team on the field and deep bench strength maybe this shouldn't have be too surprising. A rare start for La Boca meant that the defence, at least on paper, had some solidity to it. The midfield was forceful and creative providing the usual basket of chances for the twin strikers Safet and Tano. Even the most objective observer would give the first 30 minutes of this match to Madison as they controlled possession and rarely spoiled a pass. The best chances for the Celts came from the strong running of Halil, David and Roniildo. But some excellent crosses into the box went begging as the Orange team held on in defence. Some powerful shooting by David looked like being the main source for the break through goal but when it came it was from a sweet midfield move. Roniildo winning the ball in the opposition half moved to his right then swept a fantastic cross into the box where it skipped off the head of an Orange defender and then was nodded into the net by the predatory Carlos. A well deserved one nil lead that the team took into the half time break.

The second half saw the Orange team pushing the Madison team back in a concerted fashion for the first time in the game. Madison were allowing gaps in the midfield between the strikers and the defence and at times 4 or 5 Orange players were running at the Madison defence. Most of the time La Boca or Jodingo!! managed to clear the ball but not in their usual decisive fashion allowing the Orange team to pick up on attack immediately. It was not all one way traffic as chances still came to Madison with David coming close a number of times with shots that went narrowly wide or were tipped over the bar by the goalie. The forward line were not really getting shots on target and found themselves getting deeper and deeper into their own half. But it did look like Madison could hold out for the win. However, this hope was undone with about ten minutes left on the clock when a corner for Orange was met by an unmarked player in the box allowing him to crack an unstoppable shot into the net for the equalizer. A disappointing goal to lose at such a late stage of the game but Madison had not been taking the chances that came their way when they were on top. Having said that, the Celts came agonizingly close to snatching a win right at the end when a corner kick saw the ball sweeping right across the Orange back line landing at the feet of the unmarked Halil who only had to tap it into the net but instead he swung at it and the ball went sideways of his boot and past the post. With that chance gone the game ended leaving the Celts with a fight on their hands to get into the top two over the final ten games of the season. The last game of the Fall section of the league is at home next week against the Albanian Eagles. Three points are a must!

MAN OF THE MATCH; Roniildo. Powerful running and tackling were a feature of Roniildo's game helping out the defence and being available for the attacking ball throughout the game. Other contenders were Halil who had another great game but tired towards the end and David with his dangerous shots from just outside the box