MATCH REPORT; Southington 2 Madison 3

Heroic win for depleted Madison team

After all the talk and discussion about needing a bigger squad to get through the season and the call for at least twelve guys to turn up for the game and be "Titans" it was probably all too predictable that the first game of the Fall season would see a ten man Madison team take to the field against Southington. But what a strong ten they were.... Spartans! If Madison could guarantee this level of performance in all their games during the Fall season then maybe it wouldn't be too far fetched to think that this small squad could be good enough.

Not surprisingly Madison started this game cautiously and moved the ball around the back four before sending probing balls forward looking for the weakness in the Southington defence. With only Enrique upfront the passing had to be accurate and mainly from a counter attacking posture. This style of play allowed Madison to settle into the game and restricted Southington's chances to a very few forays into the box. The defensive back four with La Boca restored to the line up looked solid for the first time in several games. The midfield was supporting Enrique very effectively and some of the best chances in the first half were falling to Fribeka, Scott, Tom and Jodinho. One run in particular by Jodinho was worth seeing a replay of. He burst into the Southington penalty box at full speed gliding past two defenders and was only thwarted from a goal of the season candidate by a great finger tip save from the opposition goalie. At this point in the game being a man down was clearly not inhibiting the Celts from dominating the game and after thirty minutes this control was rewarded when a quick move and pass by Tom the Coach released the ball to Enrique who did not hesitate to fire the ball from about 25 yards out past the surprised goalkeeper. Madison controlled the rest of the half and started the break with a well deserved lead. The talk at the break was all about holding onto the lead through the second half as the team were sure to come under an onslaught from Southington. Surprisingly, the second half started with Madison very much still in control and after only five minutes of the half gone a ball was crossed into the Southington box and was handled by one of their players. Penalty to Madison and Tom the Coach took the honour of blasting the ball high and wide past the goal keeper for a two nil lead. After this the game started to get tough for Madison as the strain of playing with only ten men began to tell. The Celts found themselves defending deeper and deeper in their own half and the balls that were getting punted up the field were quickly being sent back into the Madison half. Having survived a number of scares with great saves by El Gato and off the line clearances from La Boca it was an unfortunate own goal by Hamid that brought Southington back into the game. The goal seemed to give them a boost of confidence and Madison had to survive several other long range shots and near misses. Just when it looked like the team might capitulate to all this pressure a great run by Fribeka allowed him to pass a great ball to Enrique who found himself one on one with their goal keeper. Showing great composure he rounded the goalie and slammed the ball into the net to restore Madison' two goal lead.

Madison came under even more pressure after this and the last fifteen minutes of the game involved wave after wave of attacks from Southington and some real gritty defending by Madison. However, Southington managed to pull another goal back after some confusion in the Madison defence and it looked like all the hard work by Madison may come undone in the closing minutes. With only a few minutes left in the game Southington managed to get past the rapidly tiring Madison defence and crossed a great ball into the box where a Southington attacker was unmarked. All he had to do was stroke the ball past El Gato to tie the game but the heroic, some say legendary, Madison goalie dived down to his left to make a great point blank save. All that was left in the game was for Johnaldo to go on a crazy run with the ball down the left wing to run the clock down. And as the whistle went the Madison team fell to their knees from exhaustion but also in relief at achieving such a great result against the odds. This marked their first away win in the 2009 season!

Man Of The Match; Tough to pick one player after such a great team effort. Two great goals by Enrique, fantastic defending by La Boca but i guess the award has to go to El Gato for some outstanding saves especially the game winning one near the end of the game

Enrique and Rob plan the second half tactics

Fribeka fixes his bionic leg for the second half

Midfield maestro Scotty showing how easy the game is

The legendary El Gato....MOM