GUILFORD ( Madison ) CELTIC

A dreary, wet start to the day almost had this derby game in doubt, but after some consulting with weather maps and radar scans the game kicked of at 8.15 am. If the field was damp and a bit soggy it didn't seem to affect the home side who got stuck into the game right from the whistle. An assertive back line of Dan and Mike made sure that Guilford knew early on that no prisoners were going to be taken! Some tough tackles and great clearances filled the team with confidence. The unusual starting midfield of Tom, Fribeka, Ruggero and Robert fought hard for the ball and set up some nice passing moves between each other and the two guys up front, Leo and Kevin. Most of the chances were falling to Madison, a team clearly motivated by the threat of relegation. Ruggero had a couple of nice runs with completed shots at the end of them. Tom was playing some smart football down the right midfield and Carlos was bursting up the left flank every chance he was getting. Jodingo!! was already heading for a solid game at right back mopping up anything that came his way. When the team was augmented by the Brazilian combo of Alex and Edmilson half way through the first 45 Madison stepped it up another gear. Some great probing runs and crosses were really testing the Guilford back four but unfortunately every lofted ball into the box was easily plucked out of the air by the impressive Guilford goalie. It looked increasingly likely that Madison would get the opening goal and when it came it was a piece of individual brilliance by the maestro El Flaco! A lightening fast break down the left wing saw Carlos skip past opposition players as though they were training cones. He then burst into the box and unleashed a shot which the goalie managed to parry. Unfortunately for him the ball went straight back to Carlos who didn't waste his second chance blasting the ball into the net. A well deserved opening goal and lead for the convincing home side.
The Hulk was having a surprisingly quiet first half given who the opposition were but not quiet enough to break out the cocktails and Karaoke machine. He would be called into action in the second half. A very good half saw Madison confident of building on the lead in the second. But Guilford had other ideas and started the new half pressing the Madison defence. Some last ditch tackles and blocks prevented an equalizer but it was clear that Guilford were not going to hand over the three points meekly. A few more breaks by them saw a pattern appearing of balls pumped up in the air down the middle of the field and a foot race between the defence and their attack. Bruce was caught a few times late off his line ( I saw one of our midfielders calling him on his cell phone to warn him an attack was coming ) but he always got to the ball. As the half wore on more and more of the field opened up for both teams and Flaco and others were able to go on lengthy sprints up the field. Of course Guilford were trying the same tactic and at times nearly got the time and space to get a shot on target. The game moved into the last five minutes with Madison stoutly defending and hoping the whistle would go. But earlier relief would come their way when a ball down the Madison left found Fribeka clear near the half way line. The opposition hesitated, thinking he was offside, but no whistle came and Fribeka scurried all the way up the field into the box brilliantly rounding the goalkeeper and with his last ounce of energy he managed to dink/tap/flub/trickle a shot/cross/pass to Tano who had the simplest task of slotting the ball into the empty net. The Guilford team were crushed but the three points were in the bag. A great performance by everyone on the team and with only one game left in the season ( against league leaders Ridgefield ) the Celts still have a great chance of finishing outside the bottom two. After 7 straight defeats, the Celts have now won 4 out of their last 6 games, with three shutouts along the way, as they have improved their goal difference considerably!

MAN OF THE MATCH; Some great performances all over the field. Ruggero and Tom were superb in the first half and Fribeka showed his value with a stalwarts performance in the second. Alex and Robert put in a great shift as did any of the players that came in. The back four were immense throughout the game with Dan and Mike in particular looking impenetrable. But for his sheer non stop running, great goal and crazy skill through the game the MOM goes to El Flaco!