Last Indoor Game of the Season!

Guys, as we gear up for the start of the new Spring season we have the little task of rounding off the 2011 indoor season with an 8pm game against Blackpool. It hasn't been one of our best sessions of indoor ( actually it's our worst ! ) but at least we are starting to show some form late in the session!

Don't know if El Flaco and Jorge will be at this game but if they do turn up then we might have a really nice result to finish of the indoor season.

I won't be able to make the Thursday night game so I will need one of my support reporters to send me the match report!

The next update will be on Friday

Hail! Hail! The Celts Are Here!

It felt like the old days as the Mad Celts swept to a very impressive 10 4 victory over North Branford! This was the Celts biggest indoor victory since last year and it was no surprise that it was all sparked by the exciting news that El Flaco and goal King Jorge were back in the side. What a difference they made to the team with rapid movement, great passing and fabulous goals. Of course, it wasn't all about them as Tano was in sparkling form and we saw great play from David and Roniildo. You also know things are really going well when Johnaldo and Kris get on the score sheet! North Branford didn't know what hit them and they were never really in the game as Madison kept a healthy margin of goals throughout the game. Only one more game left in indoor before the start of the season! More to the build up to the Spring season in the coming days!

North Branford Up Next!

The next indoor game is against North Branford at 7pm! We only have two more indoor games left before the start of the outdoor season so if you've done no exercise and have been eating like a sumo wrestler since the last outdoor game you may want to do something between now and the 10th to make sure you don't have a heart attack during the first game! Hey, we are all over 40 ish now! I know Tano has been practising and working out almost every day or so! He will be exhausted for the start of the season..... kidding!

See you Thursday night!

Where in the World is Jodingo!!

Well, having turned up last night and nearly having to walk away with no game after a slight field mix up, we did eventually get a game in although more of a practice match as some of the Cardiac Arrest guys joined the Celts to play against Blackpool. Two fantastic goals by Halil and Tano and some amazing saves by The Hulk were not enough to prevent a 3-2 defeat. Their winning goal coming from a great squared cross into the box which Johnaldo watched and admired before reacting with molasses like reflexes to help the Hulk pick the ball out of the net. Still, a good work out as the team gets ready for the beginning of the outdoor season.

I know a lot of the team have not been playing indoor this year but it's good to know they are keeping fit in their own way. The photo above is straight from the Jodingo!! boot camp somewhere in deepest Connecticut. Jodingo!! is seen here wearing his specially designed Irish skull cap which he will be using in most games this season.

I can see the girl in the background is none too impressed!

No game next week but we will be having our AGM on Thursday night. Details to follow soon!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Top of the morning lads and very Happy St Patricks day to you all, and what a fine morning it is.
Now we have a little game on tonight, at 8pm, against those terrible drunkards, the Cardiac Arrest bhoys. Who knows if they will turn up or not but to be sure we should all be there waiting for them. And if we can't have a shindig with them then sure enough we can have one Hell of a shindig with ourselves!

Here's to a long life and a merry one
A quick death and an easy one
A pretty girl and an honest one
A cold beer and another one!

....... and may you be inHeaven a half hour before theDevil knows you're dead!


See you later, Slainte!

Winning!

Not a Charlie Sheen among us but we are winners!

Yes, a great performance against a Southeast Xara team who had just beaten the Guilford Black Eagles, sent the team off to the bar with a smile. The pulsating 5-3 victory for the Celts was well deserved and about time! Having had probably the worst session of indoor soccer in their history ( 1 win in 8 games! ) the Celts have now moved into a more comfortable mediocrity with one win, one draw and one loss. The signs are good though that the team is now finding some good form and the players are starting to get in shape..... well some of them.
The game started with a frenzy of shots by the opposition that hit every post and bar available to them in the Hulks goal. If it missed those, the Hulk was there to block it. After this onslaught by the Xara team a fantastic long range shot by Halil, that nearly burst through the net, gave Madison the lead. Two more goals by David and Tano made the score a comfortable 3 0 by half time. But, as is always the case, two defensive errors, bad passes from defence to midfield, allowed the Xara team to claw back two goals. Another goal by us and another by them made it 4-3 to Madison heading into the last few minutes of the game. It did look that the Celts were starting to wilt under pressure and maybe Xara would find a late equalizer but not this time. Some great saves by the Hulk, fighting for his place after the scintillating from of El Gato, and some good defensive clearances kept the Xara team at bay. In fact, El Gato also showed some of his great defensive qualities in this game with some nifty footwork and tackles! The team was still stressing when a great shot by Tano brought an anxiety relieving fifth goal for the Celts who ran out deserved 5-3 winners!

The next game is scheduled to be against Cardiac Arrest on St Paddy's day. Having met Goggs in the bar he doubted any of them will be sober enough to turn up to play us so we may need another plan for that night. If we have more players we can have a scrimmage match? If they do turn up drunk then we can have a laugh.... either way we should plan to be there to play.

We also need to agree on an AGM night and location. So far we have Thursday 24th March as a possibility as a a few of you can't make Friday the 18th. Who is OK with the 24th?

Getting Better? Maybe...!

A double header night allowed Madison to get even more of their ring rustiness wiped off. A great battling performance against the Guilford Black Eagles was followed up by another strong performance against Guilford Bell Curve. In the first game against the Eagles, Madison passed accurately, tackled hard and kept possession well against strong opposition. The Celts took a 3-2 lead in the game and looked to be heading towards a famous win. But, as bad luck would have it, they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by losing a late goal. El Gato was blameless for the late equalizer in yet another fantastic outing by the agile shot stopper. This game was probably the best game the Celts had played in indoor this year and they carried that form into the next game of the night against Guilford Bell Curve. Having got themselves into a strong position with two great gaols by Tano and one by David they let things slip and slumped to a 4-3 defeat. Although this was disappointing it could be blamed on tiredness and not for any lack of ambition or application by the team.

Next game is at 8pm against?? Don't know but I will find out!

Next Session Starts This Thursday!

Guys, the next session of indoor starts this Thursday with a game at 8pm! Don't know who against yet but it starts at 8pm!! Bring your fees which should be in the range of $60. Roniildo will confirm below in the comments section! Let's have fun and win some games but more importantly get fit for outdoor.....it's coming soon!

Just Another Defeat!

Well, it was yet another defeat.... but we played much better as a team against really tough opposition, the Guilford Eagles. Last time out they destroyed us 8-4 but this game was always within our grasp. A very strong start to the game, with Johnaldo up front pestering the opposition defence line, allowed the Celts to hassle the Eagles in their own half. For the first ten minutes Madison looked the stronger team with the Eagles making lots of mistakes. But, yet again, a defensive error allowed their first shot on goal to go into the net. Johnaldo pulled one back before they scored again and then Tano equalized. But after this first twenty minutes of good, well matched play the Celts allowed some carelessness to creep into their game and lost two stupid goals just before the half. The second half didn't start much better and another two quick goals put the Celts 6-2 down and cruising for a bruising. However, some smart, fast passing and two quick two goals by Halil brought the team right back into the game and then another goal by Ruggero got the Celts to within one goal of the Eagles. But any thoughts of a glorious comeback were dashed when the Guilford aces slotted another goal into the net and ran the game down to the end. So, the first session of indoor ended with yet another defeat but nowhere near as bad as previous defeats. Maybe the team is starting to get their soccer legs back? They will certainly need them because the second session starts next Thursday!

If you have not indicated that you want to play in the next session please say so in the comments below!

Comeback Not Good Enough!

Report By El Gato! Pic By Tano!

Well the fellow who was supposed to write the match report never showed up....
So you are stuck with yours truly....
Another loss for Madison Celtic to add to their almost perfect indoor session. I can not say it was lack of players. We had 11 "skilled" players; The incredible hulk was back between the sticks, LaBoca, kris, 50/50 Tom A., Dave S., Halil, Ruggero, Tano and El Gato. We also had the return of our guest players Altigan and his cousin Zez.
We had a great start with nice form and a quick goal in the back of the net by Zez. So El Gato started to do what he knows best, watching the game on the other field. By the time I turned around we were trailing 5-1. Oops here we go again, its almost half time and we are too deep in the hole to be able to pull it off. Slow moves and too many unmarked men was again the story of our game. Second half started much better. Three beautiful goals by Dave S. put us back in the game. At 5-4 as we were looking for the equalizer, Branford "yellow shirts" took advantage of our sloppy defensive line up and added another goal to their 5 unanswered first half goals. However, Halil with some great moves was able to get a quick goal pass their goalie. Now at 6-5 we tried one more time for the equalizer but here we go again....... 7-5 loss is what we can add to our broken record.



Next game is this Thursday at 7pm against Guilford Black Eagles!! This is the last game of this session

North Branford is Up Next!

After a morale raising first win last week we are up against North Branford in an 8pm kick off match. If we can repeat our form from last week then this should be a good competitive game.

If you want to know how well we did against this same team last year have a look at this match report!

http://madisonceltic.blogspot.com/2010/01/branford-blasted.html

Indicate in the comments section below if you are able to turn up for the game.

Victory is Sweetest When you've Known Defeat!

Victory at last! I had forgotten what it felt like! This was a much better performance by Madison Celtic as they dominated a game against a good Blackpool team, getting up to a 6-2 advantage before some late game jitters allowed a few goals to fly in for the opposition. Nonetheless, the Celts were solid enough to hold out for a well deserved 7-5 win. The star performers on the night were Tano ( 3 goals, and could have been many more! ) and the return of the "magic cat" EL GATO! Some fantastic reflex saves by El Gato really kept Celtic in control of the game at a time when they could have let the victory run away from them. Looks like The Hulk has a real rival for the onion bag protector role! Tano was also on fire with darting runs, flicks, on target shots and great goals . Of course David has his usual excellently robust game. The opposition certainly know they are in a game when he is playing. He also scored some great goals and was up and down the field like a robot on steroids. Halil also had a good game controlling the midfield area. Apart from a few defensive lapses by the tiring Johnaldo this was as good a game as we have had indoor for almost a year!

So, now we have remembered how to win let's try it again next week!
Next game is at 8pm against North Branford!

Only two games left in this session so we need to know who is signing up for the next one which will take us through to the Spring outdoor season

We need a Winning Attitude!

Our next game is this Thursday against BlackPool. As I mentioned I know nothing about them but all I know is we have to beat them! The last few years of playing indoor have been a glory filled run of stirring victories but not this session.... more a crap filled wasteland of defeats!

But we can still rise and be a team again! Can't we? Yes we can!

Let's turn up this Thursday, 7pm and go for it!! Let's bring back that winning feeling....

Birthday Blues Come In Two's!

This double header night ended up as double trouble for the Mad Celts as their appalling indoor soccer form continued for yet another week. Two defeats, 5-1 and 5-3, against Southeast Xara and Guilford Bell Curve emphasized how poorly the Celts played, although the second game was there for the taking. The same old faults of poor defending, poor passing and rotten finishing pockmarked both games. Although Birthday boy Tano and Halil tried their best with some shots at goal the Celts knew they were in trouble when Roniildo was actually tackled by the side netting and then shortly after that he then passed to the net! Yes it was one of those nights when every shot on our goal seemed to go in although if it was not for some outstanding saves by The Hulk the scores could have been much worse. The second game was much better and much closer with a good fighting performance and great goals from La Boca, Halil and Johnaldo. But in the end the Celts defensive frailties came back to the surface as they lost two late goals.

Looks like we need some more fitness training to get us all in shape and back to remembering the basics of running and passing. If their was a tournament for statue soccer we would win it.... we need to move into space and keep moving!

Next game is 7pm against Blackpool......I know nothing about them but they are 15th in the EPL!

The party in the bar after for Tano was very nice too!

Double Header!

We have a double header night this Thursday with two games against Southeast Xara at 7pm then Guilford Bell Curve at 8pm! We will need a good squad to get us through the two games!

Maybe we will win at least one of these games? Let's hope the snow and ice will have passed by then

Tell us if you can make it!

Goggs and TJ Take The Prizes!

What can i say about the performance against Cardiac Arrest? Well it was certainly a tale of two halves. The first looked like the Madison Celtic indoor team of the last few years, with great passing movement and spectacular goals from Ruggero and David. The second was simply a nightmare as the Cardiac Arrest team double teamed David and put fast breaking guys up front. We collapsed! From 5-1 up at the half we were quickly only leading by a goal as stupid defensive errors led to easy goals for the Cardiac team. For some reason The Hulk decided the ball was a hot potato and refused to pick it up choosing to send probes into the outer atmosphere of the galaxy with his clearances. The rest of the team, including this intrepid reporter, decided to respond to all this mayhem by slowing down even further! Before long we were 7-5 down and in a sorry state. No passing, no movement and no tackling. Only with 5 minutes left in the game did the Celts finally buck up and put more pressure on the Cardiac defense. Tano scored a brave goal to put us one behind but with the clock ticking down we were not able to find an equalizer. Poor result after such a great first half!

Maybe the prizegiving to Goggs and TJ at half time was not such a good idea after all!!

No game next Thursday!

Goggs and TJ Are Up Next!

Our next game is against Cardiac Arrest this Thursday at 7pm. This is the team that Goggs and Tom Da Judge play for so it will be a good competitive match! I think in the past we have managed to beat them fairly easily... or is my memory failing me? Having said that, the way we have been playing over the last couple of games we could be in a for a thrashing!

Hope you can all make it for the game.... we need some goalscorers to get past the defensive rock that is Goggs ( He is the one on the right above) and TJ ( He's on the left !)

Remember to bring your fees if you haven't done so already. Halil, his bro and The Hulk all paid up last week

Xara No Show!

Unfortunately Southeast Xara turned up with only 3 players so we ended up with a scrimmage game. We had enough Madison players and guest ex-players like Matin and Mamoud to have a reasonable game. For those of you on the team that did not include David and Kris the scrimmage was a bit of a whitewash with 10 goals betting slammed past The Hulk. Everytime David took a shot on goal he scored! Hopefully he can do that in a real game next week! Halil and Tano were very unlucky not to score a few goals as they managed to hit the bar, post or last defender instead of the back of the net! And Matin scored the best own goal of the season!! We do need to get better at passing and running..... the team looks very unfit !

Next game is against Cardiac Arrest at 7pm

Next Game against Xara!

Our next indoor game is this Thursday against Southeast Xara at 7pm. This is the team we played in a friendly after the 8-4 humping by the Eagles. Should be a tough but competitive game. We had 10 guys turn up last week and hopefully a similar number will be available for this Thursday. Just add your name to the roll call below and don't forget to bring your $69 fee if you haven't done so already. Thanks to those guys who did it last week



See you Thursday, if i can shake of this cold!

Painful Start to Indoor!

Yes we knew it would be tough playing that first game after so many months of doing nothing but eating and drinking and whatever.... but playing the Guilford Eagles on top of all that made this game feel even worse. In the end we were hammered 8-4 but to be honest it could have been more. After a very even fifteen minute period, at the start of the game, the Celts let in a silly goal and then the roof caved in. Within another ten minutes we had lost another 4 goals and were struggling to keep up with the fast paced passing and running of the Division 1 Eagles team....maybe they didn't celebrate over the festive season? A great goal by Ruggero pulled one back before the half to put some face saving cover on the score. The second half was a bit better as Madison started to get some shape to their game but we were always behind and chasing. Although, when we got back to 7-4 there was a glimmer of hope before that was cruelly snuffed out by the rampant Eagles. Final score was 8-4, with the second half a better 3-3 performance.

After that tough wake up call the Celts played a friendly with Southeast Xara and ran out 8-5 winners to restore some confidence and pride!

Next weeks game will be at 7pm and coincidentally will be against Southeast Xara!