Match Report; Hamden Utd 1 Madison Celtic 6

The old adage that it was a game of two halves was never truer as Madison Celtic romped to a 6 1 victory after a turgid first half that saw both teams score but never excite.
The predicted rain held off to allow the game to go ahead on the cabbage field that masquerades as a soccer pitch. The Celts were early to dominate in this game with lots of possession and a strong midfield mastery. But, as has happened in previous games, the Celts did not convert any of this ball control into a lead. In fact no real striking opportunity occurred in the first fifteen minutes from either side until a slight mistake allowed Hamden to get their first shot on goal and score! Completely against the run of play but Celtic had really not taken their chances and then were left riding their luck at the back. After this setback the Celts again regained full dominance in the midfield but were also giving up the ball cheaply with poor passing.  However some great shots by David S kept the  goal threat alive for the Celts as he came close to getting his team back on parity. But it was a defender that finally got the breakthrough. Jim O, no doubt inspired by his slight goal leaking mistake at the back, was raiding up front at every opportunity and it was on one of those occasions that he headed the ball into the net after a stramash in the opposition box. A well deserved equalizer for the Celts and the first half closed with a feeling that the second half could only get better. And how true that was!
It still took a good fifteen minutes in to the second half before the Celts edged in front when a great solo breakaway by Rob saw him lure out the goalkeeper and slam the ball into the net. The Madison visitors then pressed for further advantage with great passing play from Johnny B and Ronnie setting up the forwards for lots of chances. However it was a sublime piece of brilliance by Dave Slade that finally crushed the opposition. Dave received the ball around 35 yards out and looking up realized the opposition goalie was off his line. He didn't hesitate to loft a superb ball over the defense and right over the head of the transfixed goalkeeper. It was now 3 1 to the Celts and the wheels were about to come off the proverbial bus for the hapless Hamden team as first Ravi then Tano slotted in quick goals to put the Celts out of sight. Tano rounded off the scoring with his second and the teams 6th goal of the day. There could have been several more goals as the Celts went for the jugular but the referees whistle put the home team out of their misery and sent the Celts home with all three points in the bag.

Man of the Match; There were many great performances all over the field today especially in the second half  with notable performances by the midfield duo of Ronnie and Johnny B ably assisted by Jacques, Nino and TomA. Up front Rob was superb and Tano came onto a good game the longer the match ran. But two performances stood out on the day; one by Dave Slade who was the main threat in the first half and scored a sublime goal in the second. The other was by Dimitry at the back standing in for Tim. A great solid performance throughout the game that added some steel to the back four. But just for that scintillating 35 yard piece of art the MOM goes to Dave S!