MATCH REPORT; Eagles 1 Madison 2

The Celts produced their best form of the season to claim all three points against a stubborn Albanian Eagles team. It was a strong looking Madison team that started the game. New player Dan  was installed in the back line with Tim and Edmilson, and new striker Kevin and Tano were leading the front line. The midfield, shorn of Johnny B and Rob Bz, still looked capable enough with Roniildo, Jodingo!!, Fribeka and Alex, who was given a more attacking role away from his normal defensive duties.
The Celts started the game well with good possession and some early probing of the Albanian defense. Fribeka and Alex took charge of the midfield battles with their counterparts, and Dan and Tim were closing out any attacks before they got anywhere near the Hulk. That's what happened in the first five minutes! After that the game evened out to a good give and take clash with Madison always having that little bit more in the tank than the Eagles. Having said that, when they attacked they did so with speed that sometimes caught out not only the defence but also the linesman. The Hulk had to pull off a string of dead certain goal attempts with superb, body crunching saves. Just when it looked like this might be one of those frustrating games where the Celts get a lot of possession with no payoff Kevin and Tano burst into life.  A great shot by Kevin was fumbled by the opposition goalie and Tano was there to whip the ball into the net for the go ahead goal.  The Celts had a few more attempts at goal including another rare headed attempt by Johnaldo that went narrowly wide of the mark. All during the first half Fribeka was playing out of his skin and Alex was linking up with whoever was beside him in the midfield and making great bursting runs into the box. On one of those forays he beat the offside trap, raced into the box and slotted it past the goalie only to see the goal chopped off for an offside call on one of his team mates. Still a very strong first half. The second 45 was a very similar performance with most of the possession going the way of Madison and every so often a break away attack from the Albanians. The next goal was going to be crucial and when it came it was a superb first goal for new boy Kevin as he blasted a shot past the despairing dive of the Eagles goalie. Of course that should have been game over but as ever the Celts try to make everything a bit uncomfortable and on one of those rare Eagles attacks they managed to get the ball past the superb Hulk. After that, the Celts really closed the game down and some excellent play by the midfield and defence blunted any further attacks by the Albanians. The game ended with a nice three points in the bag for the Celts

Man of the Match;  Some superb performances by Alex, Dan and Kevin were of note but the stand out was Hulk and also the 'best in career" performance of Fribeka. So two man of the match awards go out to Jacques and Bruce!

NEXT GAME; August 25th, Albanian Eagles

We have an away game this Sunday against Albanian Eagles with a 10 am kick off. The field directions are below;

BUCKS HILL PARK (Montoe Park):

I-91, Route 15 or I-84 to Route 8 North to Exit 36 (Huntington Avenue) off Route 8, end of exit ramp turn right and go through 7 traffic lights and past Waterbury Shopping Plaza on your left. After Plaza you will see Citgo Gas Station on left, take an immediate left onto Hill Street Extension, go to stop sign and turn left onto North Main Street. At the fork in the road bear right, continuing on North Main Street, go about 1⁄4 mile and turn right onto Montoe Road. Bucks Hills on right.

Route 8 South to Exit 36, end of exit ramp turn left, go to first traffic light and turn left. Follow above directions.

The Eagles are bottom of the league one point behind us. To say this ia a bottom of the table tussle is an understatement. If we don't want to finish dead last in the division then we have got to win this one!

Who is in? So far we have the following on the roll call;

ROLL CALL FOR SUNDAY;

Johnaldo
Tano
Tim
Hulk
Kevin
Dan
Tom P
Tom A
Fribeka

MATCH REPORT; Madison 0 Cheshire 1

This routine loss for Madison Celtic was a bit more depressing than previous defeats because of the way the team just seemed to accept the fact that we would not score. Cheshire were OK but no great shakes and scored on a  breakaway when ex Madison player Ahmad slammed an unstoppable shot past the stranded Hulk. They had few chances during the game and when they did get through the defence Hulk was more than capable of blocking the shot. At the other end of the field Madison struggled to mount any type of coherent attack and had very few shots on goal. New player Kevin did some great runs but found himself getting deeper and deeper into his own half to collect the ball. Both he and Tano became increasingly isolated up front as the game progressed and the midfield failed to connect with any passes. When Madison did get an opportunity on goal it was usually from a distance and well wide of the mark. The Cheshire goalkeeper pulled off a couple of good saves but for most of the game he was comfortably untroubled. The second half did see Madison play some better football with Fribeka playing a good role plugging the gap between the defence and the midfield but any chance of claiming at least a point was scuppered when Johnny B was sent off for a second bookable offence. The first bookable offence was a joke so this was a tough red to get. The game finished with Cheshire pressing for a second and Tim and Edmilson, along with Hulk, stemming the tide. We are rooted at the bottom of the league with Albanian Eagles who happen to be our next opponents. Time for a fight back?

Man of the Match; Fribeka played well, as did Tim and Edmilson but my MOM goes to Hulk for pulling of some nice saves

NEXT GAME; Sunday 18th August vs Cheshire Inter

We have another home game this Sunday against Cheshire Inter. We tied 2-2 with them early in the season and this should be a good match up. We need a strong squad for the game and we need to start picking up some points!!

This is an 8am kick off!   YES an 8am Kick OFF !!!!

Who is in and who is out?

We have signed up two new players Dan and Kevin and their player cards are in my possession so hopefully you guys are available for Sunday.  Tell me if you have a green and white hooped shirt or not   Also what is your preferred number?

See you Sunday  Nice and early for warm up!

The Last Game was Forfeited

So another 3 points lost without a whimper. I guess a mid- August re-start to the league season is a bit tough but I think we are also suffering from the small squad number. We basically have 15 players and it doesn't take many call offs for us to be in trouble. It's a balance between having too many players and too few and i suspect we are at the too few level. So, we have signed up two new players and hopefully we will get their playing cards soon. In the meantime, we have another home game coming up against Cheshire Inter this Sunday. It is an 8am kick off..... yes, 8am.

Who is in?

Roll Call;

Johnaldo
Tano

NEXT GAME; Sunday August 11th vs Greenwich Pumas

It's been a long break but believe it or not the season restarts this Sunday with a home game against Greenwich Pumas. This is a 10am kick off and it is against the team that we forfeited against earlier in the  season as we could not raise 11 players for the game! Let's hope that's not the same for this Sunday. So far i know Roniildo, Fribeka, Ruggerho and me are out for this game so we need the rest of you to show up!

First roll call of the season !

MATCH REPORT; Madison 0 Ridgefield 5

It was a few weeks ago but the last game of the Spring/Summer section of the league ended in a 5 0 defeat for Madison Celtic. A tough game but a loss to a better team. Even though the score suggests otherwise, the best players for Madison that day wee in defence with both Alex and Tim in great form preventing the defeat from being even harder to take. The best part of the day was the barb q after the match

Man of the Match   Alex