STARTING 11 For Sunday! (EDITED)

We still have a few players to check in but here is a starting 11. I'll make sure we sub well.

SUBS;

Forwards;   John H, Rob
Middies;     Todd, Tom A, EDUARDO
Defenders;  Tom P, JOHNNY I,

NEXT GAME; Sunday October 2nd vs North Branford

Our next game is an away game against North Branford at the High School. Directions are below.
This is a 9am kick off!! Please get there around 8.30am.

We only have 4 games left in the season and by my calculations three wins might be enough to ensure promotion. Let's grab the points in this one!

And congratulations to Glasgow Celtic and Man City for providing an epic Champions league game last night. No bookings, no play acting just all out attacking football from both teams, that's the way the sport should be played. And of course you have to mention the fabulous Celtic support who sang throughout the whole game and created, once again, the best atmosphere at a football/soccer stadium you can find anywhere in the world!

NORTH BRANFORD HIGH SCHOOL (also TOTOKET VALLEY PARK):
49 Caputo Road, North Branford, CT 06471
I-91 North to Exit 14 onto Route 150 South to its end and merge with Route 22. Take Route 22 East to the intersection of Route 17 / 22, stay left on Route 17 / 22 and bear left at the fork onto Route 22 East. Go about 3 miles to the Public Works driveway (Blue Sign) on the right which is entrance to TOTOKET VALLEY PARK.
For NORTH BRANFORD HIGH SCHOOL, go past TOTOKET VALLEY PARK on Route 22 East for 1⁄2 mile and turn right onto Mill Road (if you reach Route 80, you have gone too far). Turn left onto Caputo Road and then the first left into the parking lot adjacent to the HIGH SCHOOL and field.
I-91 South to Exit 14 (Route 150). At the end of the exit ramp, turn left onto East Center Street, go past Vietnam Veterans Park and take the next right onto Northford Road for 2.7 miles to end, take Route 17 South, and then take Route 22 East. Follow above directions from Route 22 East.
I-95 North to Exit 54. At the end of the exit ramp turn left (North) onto Bushy Plain Road. Proceed approximately 3 miles until you come to a traffic light. Turn right onto Route 80. Proceed approximately 2 miles through one traffic light to the second traffic light and turn left onto Route 22 North. TOTOKET VALLEY PARK is approximately 1 mile on the left and is the first immediate driveway (the Public Works shares the same driveway) after the North Branford Police Department. The field is at the bottom of hill next to the Police Department.
I-95 South to Exit 54. At end of exit ramp turn right (North) onto Bushy Plain Road. Proceed approximately 3 miles until you come to a traffic light. Turn right onto Route 80. Proceed approximately 2 miles through one traffic light to the second traffic light and turn left onto Route 22 North. TOTOKET VALLEY PARK is approximately 1 mile on the left and is the first immediate driveway (the Public Works shares the same driveway) after the North Branford Police Department. The field is at the bottom of hill next to the Police Department. 

Weekends Results and League Standings (#14)

Third Division
Wilton Wolves	1	Wallingford Morelia Score Not Reported	2
Eli's FC	0	Newington Portuguese	5
North Haven SC	0	Cheshire United	0
Madison Celtic FC	3	Hamden United	0
North Branford SC	0	Stamford City	3 THIRD DIVISION Pl W D L FW FL F A GD SNR PD Pts 1 Newington Portuguese 14 13 1 0 0 0 44 8 36 0 0 40 2 Madison Celtic FC 14 9 3 2 0 0 29 12 17 0 0 30 3 Stamford City 14 7 6 1 0 0 19 10 9 0 0 27 4 Wallingford Morelia 14 7 0 7 0 0 33 28 5 1 0 21 5 North Haven SC 14 6 3 5 0 0 24 31 -7 0 0 21 6 North Branford SC 14 6 2 6 0 0 27 24 3 0 0 20 7 Eli's FC 14 3 4 7 0 0 21 33 -12 0 0 13 8 Cheshire United 14 2 6 6 0 0 21 32 -11 1 0 12 9 Wilton Wolves 14 2 3 9 0 0 20 29 -9 1 0 9 10 Hamden United 14 0 2 12 0 0 15 46 -31 0 0 2

MATCH REPORT; Madison Celtic 3 Hamden Utd 0

The Celts got back to winning ways with a robust performance against a stuffy Hamden team. A strong Celtic eleven  took an early grip of the game against the leagues bottom team but they found it difficult to break down their highly defensive formation.  Having said that, strong play by Johnny B and David in the heart of the midfield allowed the forwards to get plenty of the ball and some really good scoring chances. In fact, as the first half rolled on the Celts could have scored several times if they had hit the target or thumped the ball a bit harder right in front of goal (video evidence to come!).  As frustration started to grow, and maybe a bit of doubt, the Celts finally got the break through they needed when a bit of scrappy play resulted in the ball falling to David, who slotted it into the net for the go ahead goal and a half time lead.

The second half was more of the same as the Celts dominated and the back line dealt easily with any break away attacks from the visitors.  Up front Ravi was having a great game probing and running at the opposition but it was James G that knocked in the second goal for the Celts. Another  scrambled play led up to the goal but there was no mistake from James as he made sure the ball hit the back of the net. The third and final goal came from Todd and allowed the Celts to run out well deserved 3 0 victors. The Celts only need to win their last 4 games ( maybe only 3 ) to make promotion certain!

MAN OF THE MATCH; some great play by Johnny I, La Boca and Alex at the back as well as Ravi up front but MOM goes to Johnny B for bringing some much needed dig into the midfield

NEXT GAME; Sunday 25th September vs Hamden (H)

We have a home game against Hamden Utd this Sunday. It is a home game at the Long Hill Road field and it is an 8am kick off !!  Early to bed the night  before and an early rise!

Hamden are rooted to the bottom of the table having won zero games out of 11 and have accumulated only 2 points. In early June we beat Hamden 6 1 so, on the face of it, this should be a very collectable three points, but games still have to be won and we can't be complacent! We are only 3 points ahead of Stamford in the promotion chase but the bottom line is this; if we win our last 5 games we are promoted!

So let's hit them hard guys......no slip ups!

See you Sunday, bright and early!

Weekend Results and League Standings ( 13 )

Third Division
North Branford SC	2	Cheshire United	3
Eli's FC	2	Wilton Wolves	1
Newington Portuguese	1	Madison Celtic FC	0
Hamden United	1	Stamford City	3
Wallingford Morelia	3	North Haven SC	0 THIRD DIVISION Pl W D L FW FL F A GD SNR PD Pts 1 Newington Portuguese 13 12 1 0 0 0 39 8 31 0 0 37 2 Madison Celtic FC 13 8 3 2 0 0 26 12 14 0 0 27 3 Stamford City 13 6 6 1 0 0 16 10 6 0 0 24 4 North Branford SC 13 6 2 5 0 0 27 21 6 0 0 20 5 North Haven SC 13 6 2 5 0 0 24 31 -7 0 0 20 6 Wallingford Morelia 13 6 0 7 0 0 31 27 4 0 0 18 7 Eli's FC 13 3 4 6 0 0 21 28 -7 0 0 13 8 Cheshire United 13 2 5 6 0 0 21 32 -11 1 0 11 9 Wilton Wolves 13 2 3 8 0 0 19 27 -8 1 0 9 10 Hamden United 13 0 2 11 0 0 15 43 -28 0 0 2

MATCH REPORT; Newington Portuguese 1 Madison Celtic 0

The top of the league clash between Newington and Madison ended in a  narrow win for the home team finally ending the Celts chances of winning the championship. A few players were missing from the Celtic squad but the team played well in the first half holding the Portuguese team to break aways and random shots at goal that were effectively parried by Alex in goal. The half ended in a fairly contested goalless tie but worryingly very few shots on goal from the Celts. The second half saw the Portuguese team take more and more control of the midfield and force the Madison team to defend deeper  and deeper. After nearly 30 minutes of the second half the inevitable happened when the home team managed to get a shot that skimmed though the penalty area and into the net. From the explosion of screaming and shouting coming from the sidelines you could tell this was a big relief for the opposition team. Although the Celts tried hard in the last 15 minutes they couldn't find an equalizer and the Newington team ended the game only a few points away from the championship.

Man of the Match;  Some great saves by Alex really kept the Celts in the game for over 70 minutes until one got by him. Great performance stepping in for Dustin!

STARTING 11 VS Newington Portuguese

It's going to be a tough match against the league leaders and unfortunately we are going to be missing a number of our top players from the get go. But we have a great team spirit so lets tough this one out!

NEXT GAME; Sunday 18th Sept, vs Newington Portuguese (A)

Our next game is a top of the league clash with leaders Newington Portuguese at their home field at the Martin Kellogg Middle School. The game is a 10 AM kick off!
The Newington team have an almost perfect league record with the only blemish being a 1 1 tie against our very own Madison Celtic! No doubt they will be out to avenge that game and kill off any lingering challenge from the Celts. Are we up for the task? If we win this one we will be fighting for the top spot right to the end of the campaign but if we lose then I would imagine the championship will be theirs. We need a strong squad for this one guys!

MARTIN KELLOG MIDDLE SCHOOL:

Route 15 / 5 (Berlin Turnpike) to exit for Route 175 (Newington), end of exit ramp take Route 175 West, go about 1
mile and turn right onto Route 176. Go less than a mile and turn left onto Harding Avenue, school about 1⁄2 mile on left.
Route 9 North, to Exit 29, end of exit ramp take Route 175 East for 1.2 miles to Route 173. Take Route 173 North and turn right onto Harding Avenue just before 7 Eleven on your left. School is 1⁄4 mile on right.
I-84 to Route 9 South to exit for Route 175 (Newington & Central University), end of exit ramp turn left, go through traffic light to main intersection and turn right onto Fenn Road. Go about 1⁄2 mile past Stop & Shop and take Route 175 East. Follow above Route 9 directions. 

MATCH REPORT; Madison Celtic 1 Stamford City 1

MATCH REPORT FROM RAVI!

Every season needs to have at least one total logistical shit-show and the game against Stamford City, the team just below us in the table, proved to be just that, as the league messed up on scheduling referees, leaving us without one for nearly the first hour. Both sides warmed up under an overcast sky that broke into mugginess, waiting for the refs to show up, when a deal was brokered by both sides to begin the match without them. This was a hotly contested subject as Tom rightly pointed out that without refs the game could devolve into injury, while others didn't want to risk the points. But we kicked off nonetheless and the luckily a ref arrived 5 minutes in. 

Perhaps spurred by the irritation of cooling our boots for so long, Celtic began smartly and moved the ball around pretty well. Stamford City doesn't boast the league's top defense for nothing however, and in spite of being clearly physically and skillfully inferior, they proved to be tightly sealed. Michael had a solid debut in midfield and Ronnie played some good balls to the forwards. The best chance in the first twenty minutes came when a long through ball was played down the left flank, allowing Todd and his superior pace to run onto it past their right back. With only the keeper to beat, he probably had time to take an extra dribble and could have then passed the ball into the juicy part of the net, but he took the ball on the run and the surprisingly spry keeper got a lucky leg to it to poke it away. 

With the introduction of a group of substitutes, the energy was bolstered even more. With a new forward line and midfielders, Celtic pushed it into yet another gear and for a stretch probably demonstrated some of the best football of the season. Crisp, one touch passes and build up play, resulted in some good chances, and overall, the pressure proved the old adage that the best defense is a good offense and that when even the defenders are involved in the attack, we are hard to beat. This proved true when Eduardo took a ball well outside of our own box and with an eagle's eye, played a long crossing ball all the way to the opposite flag where it arrived perfectly on a sprinting Leo's foot and this time, there was no hesitation as he used the outside of his foot to flick the ball into the corner of the net to give Celtic the lead. 

The second half began with good energy, but we grew a little complacent, having dominated possession and created more chances which gave us a false sense of being up more than we actually were. The substitution pattern probably didn't do us any favors as well, as we went in and out in blocks, not allowing for different player pairings or more tactical ideas to take shape. One of those lulls allowed a loose ball to be played to Stamford City player at the top of the box and their striker fired home one of the only shots they took all game to tie up the score. 

The game ended with Celtic putting on relentless pressure. Tano had a swerving shot blocked. Ravi took a throw in near the end line and beat two defenders to put a low drive into the side netting. Leo had a few more good runs, nearly finishing off his brace. Ronnie and Johnny B all had chances. However, as the game waned, Celtic was unable to break through and the game ended in a draw with the distinct feeling that the better side should have won. 

The Man of the Match: solid if not spectacular performances by the whole team but I'd give it to the Midfield, simply because they demonstrated in stretches what can be accomplished if they push the action forward and support the strikers. Even though a goal didn't come, the chances created especially at the end of the first half were high quality and that's thanks in large part to the midfield. 

Weekend Results and League Standings (#12)

Third Division
Newington Portuguese	2	Wilton Wolves	0
Cheshire United	4	Hamden United	1
Madison Celtic FC	1	Stamford City	1
Wallingford Morelia	1	North Branford SC	4
North Haven SC	1	Eli's FC	0 THIRD DIVISION Pl W D L FW FL F A GD SNR PD Pts 1 Newington Portuguese 12 11 1 0 0 0 38 8 30 0 0 34 2 Madison Celtic FC 12 8 3 1 0 0 26 11 15 0 0 27 3 Stamford City 12 5 6 1 0 0 13 9 4 0 0 21 4 North Branford SC 12 6 2 4 0 0 25 18 7 0 0 20 5 North Haven SC 12 6 2 4 0 0 24 28 -4 0 0 20 6 Wallingford Morelia 12 5 0 7 0 0 28 27 1 0 0 15 7 Eli's FC 12 2 4 6 0 0 19 27 -8 0 0 10 8 Wilton Wolves 12 2 3 7 0 0 18 25 -7 1 0 9 9 Cheshire United 12 1 5 6 0 0 18 30 -12 1 0 8 10 Hamden United 12 0 2 10 0 0 14 40 -26 0 0 2