Madison slump to shock Defeat!Any neutral observer of this game will wonder at its final outcome. Having dominated large segments of the match, and out shooting the opposition by an embarrassing margin, Madison still contrived to lose the game. Bridgeport's record going into this match would have given the visitors every reason to believe that this would be an easy stroll in the park. Even with key players missing from the line up Madison got the game off to a strong start forcing several corners and free kicks at the Bridgeport end of the field. It was therefore somewhat of a surprise when a Bridgeport striker managed a solitary break away into the Madison penalty box brushing aside the final defender with a very dubious elbow and shoulder charge before crashing the ball high into the top left hand corner of the Madison net. One nil down and very much against the run of play. To their credit Madison responded vigorously with a series of well constructed attacks that always ended with either a narrow miss or a courageous save by the opposition goalkeeper. However, with around 10 minutes left in the half a tackle won by Carlos in midfield allowed him to quickly pass out to Eric on the left wing who out ran the Bridgeport defence before sending in an inch perfect pass for Ronnie to knock the ball into the net for a well deserved equalizer. Being tied at half time was not what the Madison team had planned, or deserved, for their first half efforts but the second half offered hope that Madison's clear superiority would shine through.
The second half started very much as the first half had ended with the Madison team sending in wave after wave of attack. Yours truly missed several gilt edged chances to score the go ahead goal but either headed over from short range or blasted high and wide. Unluckily for Madison I was not the only player being profligate in front of goal. Shots by Carlos, Eric, Scott and Ronnie all threatened the lives of some passing seagulls as they sailed high and wide over the bar. When Madison did manage to get shots on target the opposition goalkeeper was up for the task, pulling out a series of fingertip saves. As Hurricane Kyle plowed past Connecticut on its way to Canada, the skies darkened and the light eventually went out for Madison. After dominating at least 90% of the possession in the second half Bridgeport broke through the defence and after a save by Behrooz they were alert enough to follow up to score what would be the eventual winner. Even late chances to equalize for Madison were squandered and, as time ran out, both sets of teams seemed to accept the inevitable outcome to this game. The referees whistle to end the game was met with huge cheers by the Bridgeport team as they celebrated as if they had won the cup. No such party for the Madison players as they were left to rue the many missed chances in a game they will want to quickly forget.
