MATCH REPORT; Madison 3 Orange 2

The Celts burst back into some superb form with a scintillating win against their old rivals Orange. A stunning 3-2 victory over the Division 3 champions was the well deserved outcome from a very competitive match. The game saw the first goal by new player Edmilson and the first of the season from last years prolific scorer Tano!
Games against Orange are always tough and this one was no different. Madison had set out their game plan early by putting out a very strong defensive back line that had a real potential for attacking flair combined with a solid, no nonsense midfield. Due to injury the Celts were short of strikers to partner the legendary Tano but Ruggero, Ilhan and Johnaldo took turns to play up front. The Celts weathered  a bit of a opening surge by Orange but gradually played their way into the game with some superb defensive play from Edimar, Goggs, Carlos and Edmilson. The central midfield pairing of John B and Ronilldo was up against a tough Orange midfield but more than held their own. As the first half wore on the opposition attack became more and more anemic as the Celts started to dominate looking the more likely to break through. And break through they did! A great attacking move down the Madison left resulted in a great shot from Carlos being parried by the Orange keeper only for him to see Edmilson rushing in to slot the ball into the net for the go ahead goal. This was a well deserved lead and even though Edmilson was carried off shortly after from twisting his knee, the team  pushed hard for a killer second goal. Even an attack minded Johnaldo got in on the act when he was unceremoniously hauled to the ground by the last defender in the Orange back line who received a yellow card for his efforts. The Celts finished the half in control and relaxed. The second half did not see the same type of first half onslaught from Orange but an  increasingly confident Celtic team playing some neat passing and the front line pushing the Orange defence more and more onto the back foot. Twenty or so minutes into the second half, a poor clear out by the Orange goal keeper was lapped up by Carlos who surged into the penalty box before whipping in a dangerous cross right to the feet of Tano who joyously smacked the ball into the net for his first of the season. Two nil up with about 20 minutes to go was a very dominant position for the Celts to be in but some of the first scrappy defending of the game saw them give up a quick goal to provide the Orange team with some of the first encouragement of the game. Although the goal was debatable ( offside?) it stood and the opposition were back in the match. Some great chances came for both teams in the next ten minutes but with only about seven minutes left on the clock the game boiled up even further. The maestro, Carlos, back to his best form, noticed the opposition goalie off his line and from fully 40 yards out fired a probing shot into the box. Whether the goalie would have saved it or not we will never know as the ball bounced off the heel of the last defender and spun into the net for the Celts third of the game. With a clearly rattled Orange becoming increasingly more aggressive it was maybe no surprise that someone would see an early bath. The defender who had grappled Johnaldo to the ground in the first half received his second yellow of the match for hacking Carlos down from behind. Now with ten men and only a few minutes left on the clock it looked hopeless for Orange. But the Celts always like to make it interesting for their supporters and sure enough a bizarre penalty was awarded to Orange when Hulk was deemed to have barged a player to the ground. He was unlucky not to get to the ball when the penalty was taken but Orange were now within a goal of getting a point and with only a couple of minutes to play. After some frantic attacking by Orange and some decidedly panicked play from the Celts the home team finally managed to bring the game to an end and take home all three points. An enthralling encounter with some fantastic play by everyone in the team. The great defensive performance at the beginning of the game allied with superb attacking by the marauding left back Carlos. In addition, both Jodingo!! and Tom A  had great games on the right side. The next match is another biggie against the newly minted over 40 State Cup winners Norwalk Mariners!

Man of the Match; A great number of choice to choose from this week but for his superb defending, attacking, assists and goal the MOM goes to Carlos!