MATCH REPORT; Guilford Celtic 2 Norwalk S.C. 2

Guilford Celtic remained top of Division 2 after a hard fought 2 2 draw with Norwalk Sports Colombia. Norwalk is a team that have given the Celts a tough time in their past campaigns in the second tier so it was probably not too surprising that the opening  minutes would be dominated by the visitors who opened their account early with a shot from outside the box that left Dustin rooted to the spot. One nil down after less than five minutes shook the confidence of the home team and allowed Norwalk to stamp out their authority over the following 30 minutes of the game. Some perfectly executed bone crunching tackles from Jim kept the Norwalk forwards in check and the Guilford midfield pushed more and more for possession of the ball. Chances were few and far between but a brilliant substitution brought Tano into the game who scored the equalizer with almost his first touch! A typical goal poacher effort with the ball pinging around the box and being nipped in from 1 yard out.
The Celts finished the half with a lot more confidence and started the second in a similar fashion. The game was much more 50:50 and many more chances were coming the Celts way with the Norwalk goalie having to pull out a string of great saves. Of course, Dustin was having to do the same at his end of the field so the game was perfectly posed for a winning goal. And that's exactly what the Celts thought they had achieved when they were awarded a penalty with less that ten minutes left in the game. Edimar slammed the ball in to the net without hesitation to put the Celts into the lead for the firs time in the game. But disaster struck almost immediately when the Norwalk side moved up the field and took advantage of a rare defensive slip to slam in a cruel equalizer. The last few minutes of the game were fairly nervous from both teams as they held on to a point a piece.

MAN OF THE MATCH;
Some great defensive play from Jim and Edimar kept the Norwalk team from taking hold of the game in the first half hour. Todd also played really well on both flanks and a brief stint up front. But Johnny B had one of those games were he was everywhere trying to get the ball or take a shot so MOM goes to Johnny B!