MATCH REPORT; Hamden 0 Madison 0

A rejuvenated Hamden team made a mockery of their bottom of the league status by holding the Celts to a 0 0 draw. If their was any doubt who would get second spot in the league this year the two points dropped by Madison handed the final promotion spot to Guilford.

A few late call offs meant the Celts started with a slim squad and the surprise return of the famous El Gato between the sticks. The shuffling of the pack just before the game meant the Celts got off to a bit of a rusty start with the home team really taking it to the Celts. After a few close run things, the Celts started to play with more assurance and confidence. Talat was having a good game at the right back position and the midfield was asserting itself in a bit of a dour battle with the Hamden middies. As has been seen in previous games though the Celts could not turn possession of the ball into clear cut chances. Tano, David and Paulo all had chances in the opening twenty minutes or so with no luck. At the other end El Gato was springing to the aid of the defence using his legendary cat like instincts to punch, pat and push balls out of the box. After thirty minutes the game took on the shape of a game that would last the whole match. Plenty of possession by the Celts, aggressive tackles by the opposition and relatively few clear cut chances. The blank first half gave way to a second half of a similar hue. The strong bustling play by David and Roniildo in the midfield was allowing the Celts to get plenty of the ball but the final pass or final attempt on goal just fell short. El Gato gave everyone a bit of a heart attack by taking a time trip to the eighties by picking up a passed back ball in his box! He redeemed himself with a great save when Hamden very smartly took the free kick before the Celts were organized. David was the main menace in the box in the second half getting to almost every ball that was sent in but none of his headers or shots hitting the target. Strong defensive play by Kris and La Boca at the back meant that El Gato became more and more of a spectator as the game progressed. The hoped for goal was not coming and even though the Celts piled on the pressure in the last ten minutes Hamden held out for a well earned draw.

Only one more game left in the season but we already know we will be playing another year in the third division.

Man of the Match; Great performance by Roniildo and David in the back and midfield, and El Gato in goal with David just edging out the Scotsman and the cat.

NEXT GAME; Sunday 13th November, Hamden!

Our inaugural season in the SASL is finally grinding to its end and we round of our long trek with two games against Hamden. The first of these will be this weekend with an away game that starts at 10am.

Hamden have been rock bottom of the league for most of the season but seem to have gone on a late surge of player recruitment that has really helped their form. In recent games they have had narrow defeats to Orange and the Eagles ( both 3-2) but have handily beaten both East Haven ( 4-2 ) and North Branford ( 6-2 )!

Even before Hamden upgraded their roster we have struggled to beat them with our two previous games being narrow 3-2 wins for the Celts.

The bottom line is, if we want to take this season right to the wire... (unless East Haven forfeit their game to Guilford ) then we have to beat the newly refreshed Hamden team.

Let's finish the season in style with two strong victories. This will also ensure that the fast tracking Albanian Eagles don't pip us for 3rd place!

See you Sunday!!

MATCH REPORT; N Branford 1 Madison 5

The Madison Celts got back to winning ways with a comprehensive victory away to North Branford. With only three games left in the Celts season it was important that the full points available were wrapped up safely and, although there was a minor blip at the beginning of the game, that's how it ended up.

A cold Fall day did not prevent the Celts getting off to a brisk start against Branford. Some good early link up play by the ever sharp Tano along with Jorge kept the Branford defenders on their toes. The Madison midfield were controlling the early play with Halil and Roniildo making some strong runs and great tackles. After several incisive Madison attacks it looked like a goal was coming...and it did! A beleaguered Branford defense hoofed the ball up to the half way line catching the Madison defense in a flat line. The lone Branford striker was able to race away from the last defender and run into the box unopposed before dispatching a clinical shot past The Hulk. Although this was clearly against the run of play it took the Celts a bit of time to get back into the flow of the game. With David and Kris subbing on, the team had a bit more solidity and before long the clear possession advantage that was being enjoyed by the visitors was turned into a great goal. A fantastic shot by Roniildo from the edge of the box slammed off the bar but was headed into the net by the predatory Tano for his 17th goal of the season. Things went from good to even better for the Celts when the marauding David was then brought down in the box for a clear penalty. Roniildo stepped up to cooly slam the ball into the net for the go ahead goal. TomA , Kris and La Boca were having great games at the back and when things got past them The Hulk was there to clear up. Just before halftime a breaking ball in the Branford box fell to David who looped the ball into the net for a two goal cushion. The great passing and running from the whole team could have led to more goals in the first half but the main thing was collecting the three points. The second half started with some great chances for the Celts as Tano, Safet and Paulo all had chances to increase the lead. In the end a clear chance fell to Ruggerho who blasted the ball off the last defender for the fourth goal of the game. After this goal the Celts seemed to ease off the gas and Branford came back into the game and only a few desperate last ditch goalmouth scrambles stopped them from scoring. The points were finally put to bed when the irrepressible Tano scored his second of the game and the fifth for the Celts to round off a man of the match performance from the new daddy!

Only two games left in this long long season. The Celts have to beat Hamden twice and hope that Guilford slip up for any chance of promotion but however it ends up it has been a good run that has gone all the way to the end!

Man Of The Match; A few contenders today for MOM, from the defensive masterclass of TomA and Kris. The great midfield play of Roniildo and David and the fantastic running and link play of Jorge. But the man of the match goes to the two goal hero Tano who must be in the form of his life!

NEXT GAME; Sunday 6th November vs North Branford

The season is slowly coming to an end and with the storms that have hit us we are likely to see the season extended to the 20th! We have 3 games left and the first of those is this Sunday away against North Branford. 10 am kick off at Northford park, Northford. Our three games against the Branford outfit so far have resulted in a 2-2 tie, a 4-2 win and a resounding 6-2 win. On the face of it this should be three points for us but we have to earn them. Let's get the Guilford cobwebs out of out faces with a resounding win and set ourselves up for a grandstand finish of two games against Hamden.

A shout out to Carlos and hope he recovers quickly from his broken nose!

Beer boys are whoever turns up with them.....

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