MATCH REPORT; Norwalk SC 0 Madison 1

A bumper turn out of 18 squad members made it an ideal day for a team photograph and a superb win! The Celts turned out in force and showed the strength they have in their squad to full effect with a superb away victory. Norwalk SC have been one of those teams that have always frustrated Madison. There have been close games but the Celts have never claimed all 3 points before. At the start of this game the coach had the enviable task of picking the strongest starting 11 he could from a great selection of players. Having Carlos and La Boca back in the fold made up for the loss of Johnny B and Rob Bz from the line up. Up front the ever strengthening line up was bolstered by the latest new recruit Leo. The Celts started the game in a dominant fashion with great running from the midfielders and attackers and some solid defending by the back line of Edmilson, Dan, Tim and Flaco. The first forays up front were promising and it looked like the Celtic midfield was clearly going to hold its own with Alex and Ronnie winning every battle. La Boca was called into quick action in defence when Edmilson was the victim of a crude tackle but any worries that the long lost La Boca had lost any of his skill or pace were immediately dispelled as he fitted in superbly to a defensive back line that was fluid, robust and taking no prisoners. The game really kicked off after around 20 minutes when a long ball from La Boca found Johnaldo free on the right wing. He chased the ball down and ended up in a couple of tussles with the two Norwalk defenders but his annoying persistence forced one of them into making a crazy penalty box pass that was picked up by the marauding Leo who instinctively fired the ball at the goalkeeper who then parried it right into the path of Alex who slammed a glorious shot past the goalkeeper. At this point in the game the Celts were well worth their goal lead and started to turn the screw on the home team with chance after chance coming their way. However the Colombians held out for the half with only the one goal to catch up. The second half saw the home team come at the Celts with more vigor an intent. As the half wore on it became more and more a battle of them against the Madison defence. A couple of amazing saves by the Hulk kept the Celts in the game and Edmilson, Dan and Tim were making sure that as few of those chances got through to Hulk as possible. Alex was running himself into the ground and as he tired the home team pressed ever harder. With only a few minutes left on the clock it looked like their pressure was going to pay off after a great shot and save allowed the ball to spill to an onrushing Norwalk attacker who slotted it past the prostate Hulk. The expression on the Celtic goalies face was something to behold when he saw the offside flag thrust up in the air! A reprieve that gave the Celts only three minutes to hang on a for a famous win and, with the clock well past the 45 minute mark, and deep into injury time, a final attack by the home team nearly saw the win snatched away. A scramble in the Madison box saw the ball fall to a Norwalk player who blasted a shot at the goal. The Hulk was rooted to the spot as the ball arced high over his head and as the whole Celtic team held their collective breath the ball slammed against the cross bar! The ball was cleared, the ref blew the whistle and all three much needed points were in the bag. The fight against relegation is well and truly on! The next game is the big one against Fairfield who sit one point above the Celts!

MAN OF THE MATCH; This was a difficult one as so many players played out of their skins. The defense was immense with Tim and Dan getting to every ball. Hulk saved superbly when he was called into action and the midfielders were all great. New boy Leo had a superb first game but my man of the match goes to the human dynamo, Flaco who ran and ran and ran. It was great seeing him back in the team and his non stop  performance earns him the MOM