MATCH REPORT; Guilford 3 Madison 0

Report by Jodingo!!

To Be Humped, or Not to be Humped?

Ay, there's the rub........it was a sunny, muggy morning in Guilford and a pitch infested with swarming mosquitoes helped the Madison Celts squad warm up, like a bikram yoga session, for their important match against rival Guilford Bell Curve. Madison had the numbers though to sub regularly throughout the game as 17 or 18 players were ready and eager to play. With Johnaldo absent, an injured Rugginho attempted to fill his shoes as coach, complete with clipboard and field tactics. The match got off to a fast pace, with both teams looking dangerous and fighting hard for the ball. It was evident that ball control was key and both teams were passing well and concisely. El Flaco and DS subbed in after arriving late to the match, and Flaco buzzed about the midfield taking and stealing the ball at will, and then making deep runs into the Bell Curve's end. It seemed that the Bell Curve strategy was to boot the ball long and have their forwards run after it. It was exactly that tactic that caught the Celtic back line on their heels. With Celtic seemingly in control in the midfield and making a number of dangerous runs at the Bell Curve goalie ( who in his own right, is one of the primary reasons why the Curve has the lowest goal-against tally in the league) it was then that the first big mistake by the Celtic defense was made. A long ball up the center, from their left middie, over the head of Goggs, sent it into a footrace to the top of the Celts' 18 yard line. The Hulk lurched a few steps forward off his line to run to clear the ball, but doubted he could make it out in time, so he stood fast. The Bell Curve forward (a Glaswegian wearing Glasgow Celtic socks even!!), won the race and easily finished off his run with an easy kick into the inside corner. Demoralizing a bit, but the Celts pressed on and after a hard tackle by one of the Bell Curve midfielders, El Flaco lined up for a 40 yard free kick from the left side. He rocketed a shot to the far upper right corner of the goal where the impressive opposition keeper just barely pushed the ball over the cross bar! The first half wound down with hard-fought contests in the middle, especially by Halil and Roniildo, and a number of near-misses by the Celts. The half time whistle blew with the Bell Curve up 1-0, but with Madison feeling they were the dominant team. The start of the second half saw Safet back in the stopper position, and he made the most of it, making a number of sweet defensive stops followed by raging runs into the opposition box, which unfortunately ended in misfired shots. With the teams seemingly evenly matched in the middle, it was again a lone surge by the Bell Curve that would prove the dagger that deflated the Madison hopes to conquer their rival. A run up the Madison right side by a Bell Curve lonesome winger, and then the ball bouncing around the Madison box, and then finding a sprinting forward run right up the gut of the Madison defense, with several defenders either following the Bell Curve player in or simply watching the flow of play as if watching a movie take place before their eyes, left the Hulk no chance and the second goal was scored. Madison Celtic still had some energy left and were pushing hard to get a glimmer of respect back by scoring at least one goal, when a nice short cross from Tano on the right wing found the head of Jorge a foot or two in front of an open net. What appeared to be a sure goal defied the laws of physics as the ball shot straight up and well over the cross bar. It was clear at that point, if not already, that it wasn't to be Madison's day. To cap off the Celts misery, with only a minute or less to play, the Hulk, who played a tough match, picked up a ball in the box and tossed it out directly to the foot of a Bell Curve forward, who simply flicked the ball back into the empty net. So what was an even match, with good ball possession by both sides, and some players thinking Celtic to be the dominant squad, appears by the end result to be a thrashing.

As a famous guy once said;

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them?

In other words the league is not over yet, we have nine games left to get into that promo spot but we have to fight for it! But we sure are making it tough for ourselves!

Man of the Match; A tough spotted dick award this time. Both Roniildo and Halil played well in midfield and my vote just goes to Halil. A tough first game for Ruggerho as coach but he did well...watch out Johnaldo!