MATCH REPORT; North Branford 1 Madison Celtic 0

A strangely out of sorts Madison team succumbed to only their third defeat of the season against a North Branford team that stoutly defended for most of the ninety minutes. The Madison squad was a strong one but they got off to a hesitant start and never really found their mojo at any time throughout the game. The first half was an untidy affair not helped by the heavy, rain soaked field and the errant passing that was plaguing the visitors. They did have their chances but each time there was an opportunity on goal the final shot was either too weak to trouble the goalkeeper, or too high and wide. The second half was marginally better as Madison finally got their passing on to a higher level. Most of the chances were going Celtic's way and if you were a betting person you would say they were the most likely to score but, that's not what happened. A scramble in the Celtic penalty box and a ball that wasn't really cleared allowed the Branford team to take a swipe and the spherical object bounced along the uneven, muddy grass right in to the net. It was against the run of play but it also wasn't too surprising as the Celts had been leaving a glaring space between midfield and the back four. Madison had plenty of chances to equalize in the last twenty minutes and well into the generous injury time added by the ref but to no avail. The game ended in a sad defeat and the strangely cartoon version of the Celts that had turned up trudged off the field to map out a better outcome to their last three games of the season.

Man Of The Match;  Even with some of the listless play there were some good performances from Alex in goal and the defensive line. But for non stop running and effort, even though there was no pay off this week, the MOM goes to James.