MATCH REPORT; Orange 1 Madison Celtic 2

Celtic got back on track with a great win away to Orange. It was an early kick off but the Celts got off to a bright start with lots of possession and great passing. The defensive line up was strong and the midfield were holding the center well. Orange are always a strong team so it shouldn't have been a surprise that they scored first. Carlos was caught dribbling the ball just outside the box, was  expertly dispossessed and the incredulous Orange forward kept his cool slotted the ball past the stranded Hulk. The shock was that it happened after so much Madison control. The Celts bounced back with even more possession. The midfield of Johnny B, Roniildo and Rob Bz were playing great as a unit with first Ruggerho and then Fribeka adding in. The only issue was that the Celts were not generating enough clear cut chances up front. As the half wore on it felt like wave after wave of attack was hitting the Orange back line. They held up well until a great move in the last  five minutes of the first half. A superb break by Johnny B down the right wing saw him surge to the edge of the box were he unleashed a powerful cross box pass. To everyone's amazement, including his own, the person at the end of the cross with a flying header was Johnaldo who crashed an unstoppable rocket past the Orange goalie. A superb equalizer and a reminder of Johnaldo's old striking prowess that appears once in a green moon. The second half saw the Orange team lose a player and become increasingly defensive as the Celts went for the kill. Constant attacks produced save after save from the Orange goalie as Madison pressed for the winner. Even though the Celts had nearly 90% of the ball they had to be wary of break aways and a couple of times they were saved by Hulk tipping the ball over the post or gathering a long range drive. As the half wore on it looked increasingly that Orange were going to hold out for a point. But with only eight minutes left on the clock some persistent play by Tano in the box resulted in a rebounded shot landing at the feet of Rob Bz who slammed it past the despairing dive of the Orange goalie. The Celts held on over the last nervy five minutes of the half to gather all three points!

Man Of The Match; Again some great performances from Johnny B and Rob , especially in the first half. Goggs was also back at his best and Roniildo was doing some great tackling and attacking play. But for his amazing flying header, and because I'm biased, the MOM goes to Johnaldo!